because myla will need braces

:)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

MMRules

We need more Myla pics to verify your claim for her "condition" before we pay out.

Lots of pics. She better not have a pre-existing condition like bad DNA... Did you give her faulty teeth DNA?

well.... Please attach a baby picture of you so we can independently verify the pre-existing condition clause.

We have a lot of other claims to settle first beginning with the massive expense of clearing TexasT's recurring irritable bowel syndrome.

Tell ya what Seder, I wouldn't burn too many of those DVDs in advance. They'll just end up in the basement with the Majority Report coffee mugs, and the Sam Seder Show mouse pads. How's the big comeback coming along in the comedy clubs? Maybe you could sell some of your treasures in the lobby after your show, or not!

I'll buy a DVD Seder, but you had better go to the mat for this blog and keep it alive when NBC/Universal decides it doesn't fit the "family image" and wants you to shut it down when the yuppies start complaining about my and ono's cursing, Alice's soft porn, Fernando's inflatable sheep and Texas T's pissant-iness.

And, Comcast had better not try and charge me for it when they take over 51%.

I'm sure your lawyer Shelly (he's your lawyer too, right?) can work with and boiler plate that language fairly easily. If not, have him call me.

"this machine kills fascists"

Lou Dobbs Abruptly Quits CNN
By BRIAN STELTER and BILL CARTER

Months ago the president of CNN/U.S., Jonathan Klein, offered a choice to Lou Dobbs, the channel’s most outspoken anchor. Mr. Dobbs could vent his opinions on radio and anchor an objective newscast on television, or he could leave CNN.

For a time, Mr. Dobbs did tone down his TV rhetoric, but on Wednesday he made a more drastic decision: He chose opinion.

Mr. Dobbs told viewers that he was resigning from his CNN job immediately. Sitting before an image of an American flag on his studio set, he said “some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem solving as well as to contribute positively to the great understanding of the issues of our day.”

He remained vague about how he would contribute “to the national conversation,” saying that he was considering “a number of options and directions.”

The abrupt announcement caught even some of his closest staff members by surprise. They were told about the decision only hours before Mr. Dobbs’s 7 p.m. program. CNN, a unit of Time Warner, said it would name a replacement for Mr. Dobbs on Thursday morning.

Mr. Klein said in a statement that “Lou has now decided to carry the banner of advocacy journalism elsewhere.”

“All of us will miss his appetite for big ideas, the megawatt smile and larger than life presence he brought to our newsroom,” he said.

Mr. Klein and Mr. Dobbs declined interview requests.

Well known for his opposition to illegal immigration, Mr. Dobbs was an outlier at CNN, which has sought to be seen as the neutral turf of cable news.

“If CNN wants to be seen as the thoughtful, unbiased, middle of the road alternative to Fox News on the right and MSNBC on the left, this decision goes along with that,” said Geneva Overholser, the director of the School of Journalism at the University of Southern California.

She said the anchor’s decision also makes sense “if he really wants to be Lou Dobbs, man of opinion.”

Mr. Dobbs’s show drew an average of 631,000 viewers in October, putting him in third place behind Fox News and MSNBC. Like those for other CNN programs, his ratings have declined in recent months.

His contract was not to expire until the end of 2011, people with knowledge of his deal said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because contract information is typically treated confidentially. Mr. Dobbs told viewers that Mr. Klein had agreed to release him from his contract early.

People inside CNN have speculated for months that Mr. Dobbs could pick up and move to another network, a possibility that gained momentum in September when he met with Roger Ailes, the chairman of the Fox News Channel.

At the time Mr. Dobbs was characterized by people close to him as a potential hire for the Fox Business Network. But a Fox representative said Wednesday, “We have not had any discussions with Lou Dobbs for Fox News or Fox Business.”

Mr. Dobbs quit CNN once before, in 1999, after disputes with the network’s president at the time, Rick Kaplan. That time, he also exited midweek, on a Tuesday. He became the chief executive of Space.com, an astronomy news source, but returned to the network two years later.

“I’m grateful for the many opportunities that CNN has given me over these many years,” Mr. Dobbs said, noting that he is “the last of the original anchors here on CNN.”

Over the years Mr. Dobbs evolved from being a sober business anchor to a commentator who labeled himself “Mr. Independent.” The issues at the top of his agenda — ones that he mentioned again on Wednesday in explaining his departure — include immigration policy, the growth of the country’s middle class, climate change, and the military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. He had saved his most ideological remarks for his afternoon radio show, which made its debut in March 2008. It is on the radio show that he talked repeatedly about the conspiracy theory claims that President Obama is not a United States citizen. When he mentioned the citizenship issue on CNN over the summer, he raised the ire of his bosses and provoked criticism from progressive groups.

More recently, his coverage of immigration provoked protests by Hispanic groups. On Wednesday one of the groups, Presente.org, which had called on CNN to fire the anchor, declared a “victory.”

Roberto Lovato, a co-founder of the group, said, “We are thrilled that Dobbs no longer has this legitimate platform from which to incite fear and hate.”

Speaking on CNN Wednesday, Mr. Dobbs said he would strive to strengthen the public discourse from an as-yet-unnamed podium.

“As for the important work of restoring inspiration to our great free society and our market economy, I will strive as well to be a leader in that national conversation,” he said.

He concluded his last CNN broadcast by saying, “I’ll see you next on the radio.”

Then he crossed 58th Street in Midtown Manhattan, walked into an Irish pub frequented by colleagues and was greeted with a round of applause.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/business/media/12dobbs.html?_r=1&pagew...

toniD's Ya Think?

I think they meant out liar

"this machine kills fascists"

.

Men more likely than women
to leave partner with cancer
Women are six times more likely to end up separated or divorced if they are diagnosed with cancer or multiple sclerosis than if their male partners were facing the same illness, according to a U.S. study.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091112/lf_nm_life/us_partners_health

Tell me about it. You can add RA to that mix.

toniD's Ya Think?

Talking Points Memo is reporting on the ongoing implosion of a right-wing newspaper. All because the cult leader owners are having a family feud!

The Reverend Sun Myung Moon, leader of the Unification Church and King of Peace, owns the Washington Times, along with the UPI wire service, the New Yorker Hotel, a gun manufacturer, a large segment of the American sushi industry, and a couple members of congress.

Moon has always treasured the attention of American politicians, and he spent a lot of the '80s sucking up to Republicans. The Times was kinda like his New York Post, only if Rupert Murdoch literally thought he was Jesus.

But now, Moon is very old. And so he is handing over various bits of his church and his businesses to his many children. Apparently, a war between Moon's Harvard-educated sons Hyung-jin Moon (whom Moon appointed to run the church) and Hyun-jin "Preston" Moon (who controls the Times) led to Preston firing a bunch of Times executives (including the publisher) last Sunday, because they refused to back him in his fight with his brother.

The paper loses millions of dollars a year, but Moon never minded, as long as it fought communism and homosexuality in American society. But now Moon seems to think that maybe it is not serving its purpose:

That vision is of, among other things, an assertively right-wing newspaper that would stand up for family values — and remarks made in September by Rev. Moon, known simply as "Father" to church members, shows he thought the paper wasn't living up to its brief.

"The Washington Times has to take responsibility for people going to hell in America," he declared, referring to, among other sins, "homosexuality and lesbianism." And yet, at the same event at the church's East Garden estate in Westchester County, NY, Rev. Moon appeared to come back to his belief that the newspaper was a worthwhile endeavor.

The sermon, titled "Western People Are Different From Eastern People," is not entirely coherent. At one point Rev. Moon boasted that he is the "original ancestor" of the Times, asking "Did the CIA help with making the Washington Times? Did George Bush help with making the Washington Times?"

Times employees have no idea what is going on. There were armed guards at the offices the day the firings happened. The editor is expected to be fired any minute now. And soon there might not be a money-losing ultra-conservative crazy-person second daily newspaper in America's Capital, which would be a real shame.

http://gawker.com/5402610/moonie-times-collapsing

toniD's Ya Think?

fucker showed up in my inbox begging for campaign contributions.

Kiss my ass Chucky...

I don't know if you've talked about that here before but I've never heard it before from you.

-------
This does not count as a fuck-off worthy post.

Fucking off now.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/12/birther-lawsuit-witnesses_n_355...

immoral. incompetent. living the high life on donations from her stupid supporters. control freak. horny bitch. vindictive. borderline personality. loser. liar. twit.

[i apologize if this was already posted.]

Did you smile or frown a little when you renewed your driver's license?

If so, I hear that can affect the types of emails you receive from HQ. :)

(I'l get Soros on that, ASAP)

"this machine kills fascists"

a Woman will leave a man if she doesn't get a current year Lexus. It's too easy to blame the other sex rather than the vacuous nature of our society.

That particular man was an idiot to not kiss the floor you walked on imo.

AP Sources: Reid eyes payroll
tax hike on wealthy
Majority Leader Harry Reid is considering a plan for higher payroll taxes on the upper-income earners to help finance health care legislation he intends to introduce in the Senate in the next several days, numerous Democratic officials said Wednesday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091112/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_overhaul;...

toniD's Ya Think?

Both sexes are guilty of something against the other.

It just happens that most men can't handle a sick spouse.

toniD's Ya Think?

ACORN sues Congress for defunding it; Group says Congress bowed to Fox News

The community organizing group ACORN, recently walloped by conservative activists who posed as a prostitute and a pimp and tried to get employees to incriminate themselves, is suing Congress for defunding its organization.

The group has teamed with the Center for Constitutional Rights, who has filed suit on their behalf. It argues that Congress' move infringed on their Fifth Amendment right to due process, and their First Amendment right to freedom of association.

The complaint was filed this morning in the U.S. District Court of New York.

From a release issued to RAW STORY:

Today, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed a case challenging Congress’s unconstitutional defunding of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). The case charges Congress with violating the Bill of Attainder provision in the U.S. Constitution, violating the Fifth Amendment right to due process, and infringing on the First Amendment right to freedom of association by targeting affiliated and allied organizations, as well.
Story continues below...

CCR attorneys say members of Congress violated the Constitution by declaring an organization guilty of a crime and punishing it and its members without benefit of a trial.

Said CCR Cooperating Attorney Jules Lobel, “It's not the job of Congress to be the judge, jury, and executioner. We have due process in this country, and our Constitution forbids lawmakers from singling out a person or group for punishment without a fair investigation and trial. Congress, as well as individuals and organizations must abide by the rule of law.”

The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to prevent the government from reallocating funds designated for the organization and its affiliates and a preliminary injunction to stop Congress from singling out a single organization for punishment without proper investigation or due process.

The plaintiffs are ACORN, the ACORN Institute, and the New York ACORN Housing Company. The suit is ACORN v. USA and was filed in federal court in the Eastern District of New York.

CCR Legal Director Bill Quigley said, “It is outrageous to see Congress violating the Constitution for purposes of political grandstanding. With all the crimes and infractions committed by banks, pharmaceutical companies, and private government contractors, they have been rewarded with bailouts, tax credits, and billions of dollars in new contracts. Congress bowed to FOX News and joined in the scapegoating of an organization that helps average Americans going through hard times to get homes, pay their taxes, and vote. Shame on them.”

Since the vote to temporarily ban all federal funds from ACORN and its affiliates, related organizations have suffered. For example, in an affidavit filed in today’s lawsuit, an ACORN affiliate wholly separate from the national organization charges it has been unfairly affected. The organization, ACORN Institute (AI), had grants pending to provide computer training, asthma education, tax preparation, and GED classes, among other programs.

http://rawstory.com/2009/11/acorn-sues-congress-defunding/

toniD's Ya Think?

Hersh: Obama finally ‘taking control’ on Afghanistan
By David Edwards and Muriel Kane

In the wake of an AP report on Wednesday that President Barack Obama is not satisfied with any of the options on Afghanistan he has received from his national security team and is demanding revisions, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow turned to veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh for insight.

"It could be huge," Hersh told Maddow, "simply that the president's finally saying, 'I'm taking control.'"

"The one thing that mystified a lot of people," Hersh explained, "was the decision to let General McChrystal write a report. There's no general in history that will come back, given that assignment, and say 'We can't win.'"

"This is basically a war, at best, that's going to be a stalemate," continued Hersh. "And so Obama is just putting his foot down, and that's great. ... He's grabbing it and he hasn't been grabbing it until now."

Hersh also commented on a New York Times story which revealed that the US Ambassador to Afghanistan, former Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, had cabled Washington last week to express "his reservations about deploying additional troops to the country," thereby putting himself "in stark opposition to the current American and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who has asked for 40,000 more troops."
Story continues below...

Hersh described Eikenberry's cable as "big news," especially because Eikenberry has been one of a group of generals -- which also includes McChrystal, Petraeus, and Odierno -- who graduated from West Point around 1973-75 and have stuck together over the years as what is seen by other military leaders as a "West Point Mafia."

According to Hersh, this has caused "a lot of trauma within the Army, which is very resentful. ... The top of the Army ... they've been very unhappy with the McChrystal appointment and the way things have been going."

That is why Hersh sees it as significant that Eikenberry is now steering an independent course. "This summer inside the embassy," he told Maddow, "there was a lot of concerns about the stability -- literally the mental stability -- of Karzai. And I think Eikenberry probably knows more than most people."

"Eikenberry is simply, I think, reflecting a huge split," Hersh concluded, "because he's now splitting from the McChrystal counter-insurgency wing that's been dominated by Petraeus."

Hersh called his conclusion about Eikenberry a "heuristic guess," but it is supported by one online analysis which tracks Eikenberry's statements since 2007 and suggests that "General McChrystal is on a special mission based a specific philosophy of warfare and that General Eikenberry is performing his duty according to his current assignment with an ongoing evaluation of the various players and facts at hand."

http://rawstory.com/2009/11/hersh-obama-afghanistan/

toniD's Ya Think?

Sosa says he's preparing to endorse skin product

Sammy Sosa joked on Tuesday about possibly marketing the skin lightening product that has caused an international stir.

Today the former Cubs slugger said he is not joking.

"If he feels it is of good quality, it may be something he will be endorsing and marketing in the United States in the near future," said Rebecca Polihronis, the former Cubs community relations employee, who spoke on behalf of Sosa. Polihronis said Sosa told her today he is not yet prepared to release the name of the product.

For the past couple of months, Sosa has been using the cream that he picked up in Europe, ostensibly to soften his sun-damaged skin.

Asked if Sosa, who turns 41 on Thursday, is pleased with the results of the cream to this point, Polihronis said: "So far he is."

Polihronis is not certain how Sosa came upon the product in the first place.

"He has been traveling all over the world," she said. "He could have met somebody anywhere. He is an actual ambassador for the Dominican Republic. He has been working with them to bring new businesses and help the unemployment rate in the Dominican. If he decides to bring (the product) over, he will let everybody know exactly what it is and how people can get it."

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2009/11/sosa-says-hes-preparing-to-...

He looks pasty and sickly now.

toniD's Ya Think?

Is Saving Karzai Worth U.S. Lives?

As the U.S. envoy casts doubt on an Afghan troop surge, America takes a skeptical new look at its dodgy partner. Reihan Salam on why we have to hold our nose and make it work.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s relationship with the Obama White House is badly broken, and it's hard to see how it can be fixed. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry's explosive call to rethink a troop increase in Afghanistan has renewed doubts within the Obama administration and the larger Democratic foreign-policy community about whether Karzai's government, in its current incarnation, is worth fighting and dying for. And though the president seems to be inching towards a substantial troop increase, these nagging doubts have led to a call for a narrower, more defined commitment to Afghanistan. The fear is that the U.S. mission has become "too big to fail," and that Karzai, like a profligate Wall Street tycoon, is taking the American taxpayer for a ride without making the painful sacrifices necessary to create a viable nation-state. (good analogy)

For years, American officials have been profoundly concerned by Karzai's erratic behavior and reports that he tolerates corruption at the highest levels of his government. As Rajiv Chandrasekaran of the Washington Post reported in May, the president's advisors had decided "to maintain an arm's-length relationship" with Karzai, and to channel resources to local officials rather than through the Karzai-controlled central government. To that end, President Obama abandoned President Bush's practice of talking to the Afghan president at least twice a month, and he rebuffed all efforts to strike up a closer working relationship. Because Bush had grown so close to Karzai, some critics believed that he—the cowboy president—had grown too deferential. The idea was that by giving Karzai the cold shoulder, Obama would have an easier time demanding results.

But while Bush's partnership with Karzai was problematic, it might nevertheless have been the best approach. Once seen as staunchly pro-American, he has grown increasingly critical of the United States, particularly over heavy civilian casualties that have sparked outrage among Afghans. One interpretation of Karzai's egregious ballot-stuffing during the first and only round of Afghanistan's national elections is that Obama's decision to create some distance deepened Karzai's already deep paranoia. If Karzai were a clingy ex, Obama could then change his phone number or, in the worst-case scenario, file a restraining order. Instead, Karzai is essential to achieving Obama's strategic objectives in South Asia.

For some in Obama's inner circle, the fraudulent election simply confirmed long-held suspicions about Karzai's trustworthiness. Yet that ignores the extent to which he feels as though he has been let down by the United States, under President Obama but also under President Bush. Though one can hardly characterize Iraq as a stunning success, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki consolidated his hold on power only after the United States seized the initiative from the insurgency. Had Maliki been left to his own devices, it is easy to imagine him flailing and eventually being overthrown by a Shia politician willing to take a harder line. more...

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-12/is-saving-karz...

toniD's Ya Think?

UN investigator accuses US of shameful neglect of homeless

UN special rapporteur says wealthy US ignoring deepening homeless crisis while pumping billions into bank rescues

A United Nations special investigator who was blocked from visiting the US by the Bush administration has accused the American government of pouring billions of dollars into rescuing banks and big business while treating as "invisible" a deepening homeless crisis.

Raquel Rolnik, the UN special rapporteur for the right to adequate housing, who has just completed a seven-city tour of America, said it was shameful that a country as wealthy as the US was not spending more money on lifting its citizens out of homelessness and substandard, overcrowded housing.

Rolnik toured Chicago, New York, Washington, Los Angeles and Wilkes-Barre, a Pennsylvania town where this year the first four sheriff sales – public auctions of seized property – in the county included 598 foreclosed properties. She also visited a Native American reservation.

The US government does not tally the numbers but interested organisations say that more than 3 million people were homeless at some point over the past year. The fastest growing segment of the homeless population is families with children, often single parents. On any given night in Los Angeles, about 17,000 parents and children are homeless. Most will be found a place in a shelter but many single men and women are forced to sleep on the streets.

Los Angeles, which is described as the homeless capital of America, has endured an 18-fold increase in housing foreclosures. Evictions from owned and rented homes have risen about tenfold, with 62,400 people forced out last year in Los Angeles county.

Rolnik said that while she saw difficult conditions in all the places she visited, the worst was on the Native American reservation of Pine Ridge in South Dakota.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/12/un-investigator-us-neglect-h...

Pedro lives out of the Wilshire Hotel
he looks out a window without glass
The walls are made of cardboard, newspapers on his feet
his father beats him 'cause he's too tired to beg

He's got 9 brothers and sisters
they're brought up on their knees
it's hard to run when a coat hanger beats you on the thighs
Pedro dreams of being older and killing the old man
but that's a slim chance he's going to the boulevard

Give me your hungry, your tired your poor I'll piss on 'em
that's what the Statue of Bigotry says
Your poor huddled masses, let's club 'em to death
and get it over with and just dump 'em on the boulevard

May I say, I liked Sosa's dark skin better.

Michael, too.

Byron Dorgan's Financial Plan: Common Sense From The Senator Who Saw This Coming
Dan Froomkin

He got it right last time.

Senator Byron Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, was one of eight senators who stood up to oppose the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act in 1999. That repeal, which was signed into law by President Clinton exactly 10 years ago today, broke down the barriers between commercial banking and investment banking, and led to the growth of behemoth financial firms that were able to take enormous risks with impunity, because they were "too big to fail."

"I think we will in 10 years' time look back and say we should not have done this," Dorgan said back then. The video of his speech has become something of a cult favorite for wonks -- ten years, a $700 billion bailout and a major financial crisis later.

Washington has an odd habit of listening to the people who consistently get such things wrong, and ignoring the ones who get them right.

So today, on this solemn anniversary, how about listening to this guy? What does he think we should do now?

"Three things," the senator told me in an interview. "One is to separate investment banks and FDIC-insured banks. Second, prohibit FDIC-insured banks from dealing in risky financial instruments on their own proprietary accounts... And third, abolish 'too big to fail.' If you're too big to fail, you're too big. Too big to fail is what I call no-fault capitalism."

All in all, it's a much more forceful agenda than his party leaders -- including his president -- are advocating.

Why isn't the administration at his side? "You'd have to address that question to the administration," Dorgan said. He did, however, express disappointment. "I would like to see them more aggressive on this issue."

But he's still hopeful. "We don't have any bill on the floor of the House or the Senate to evaluate," said Dorgan, who is not on the Senate's Finance Committee. "My hope is that we'll get a piece of legislation that will restore that separation."
Story continues below

Dorgan said he hasn't yet taken a position on the administration's proposed Consumer Finance Protection Agency, but "clearly there needs to be consumer protection. The question is how."

Also, he said, "I think you have to regulate hedge funds... You have to have transparency on these financial instruments."

And then there's the whole issue of accountability. "It's one of the most frustrating things," Dorgan said. "We essentially have had modern-day bank robbers -- except that they wore gray suits and not masks -- and there's been no accountability for it."

Dorgan has repeatedly called -- fruitlessly -- for a federal task force to investigate and establish accountability for the crisis. What's needed, he said, is an agreed-upon "master narrative" for the story -- and then prosecution of any criminal activity.

Dorgan, who is finishing up his third term in the Senate, is also an author. His latest book, published in May, is titled: "Reckless! How Debt, Deregulation and Dark Money Nearly Bankrupted America and How We Can Fix It". more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/12/byron-dorgans-financial-p_n_355...

Jury is still out on that one Byron....

Tea Party Civil War? Lawsuit, GOP Friction Splits Leaders

Some major cracks have emerged in the "Tea Party" movement's leadership.

In October, Amy Kremer, a founder and top staffer for the Tea Party Patriots (whose activists swarmed health care town halls last summer) was forced out of the group for joining a second, more "moderate" Tea Party organization -- the Tea Party Express. Now, the Tea Party Patriots have filed a lawsuit against Kremer and issued a temporary restraining order because she tried to lock down TPP resources on her way out.

The Tea Party Patriots describe the conflict with Kremer as an "intellectual property" dispute. On Kremer's personal blog, (about me: "A genuine Southern Belle with a passion for life, politics and current events... Oh yeah, did I say I am a conservative?!?") she writes that the lawsuit is "frivolous."

It truly saddens me that TPP leadership is expending an enormous amount of time and resources to pursue a frivolous lawsuit against me when this could have been resolved amicably, which I tried to do. Personally, I believe that the people of this movement would not want any time and money focused on a frivolous lawsuit, but would rather have these resources focused on fighting the socialist agenda of the current administration.

Dave Weigel, who has been reporting on this story since it began, noted in October the growing friction between the Tea Party Patriots and the Tea Party Express. The Tea Party Patriots is a grassroots organization, while the Tea Party Express is a more corporate "astroturf" offshoot of the conservative Our Country Deserves Better PAC:

"As an organization, we do our best to be completely nonpartisan," said Mark Meckler, a national coordinator for Tea Party Patriots. "That's one of things that's allowed us to survive when we were called Republican tools. Tea Party Patriots are very dissatisfied with the Republican Party -- we have nothing against Our Country Deserves Better PAC, but they raise money for Republicans."

If this wasn't enough tea party drama for one day, Eric Odom, a conservative online organizer and key player in forming the original tea party movement last spring, has announced he's re-joining the Republican Party.

Though Odom has no intention of supporting the current crop of Republicans (and proudly asserts that he will work to defeat many of them), he is making his 2010 stand from within the Republican Party, "Love or hate the Republican Party, it's our only vessel in the short term. We either unify through it and make a stand strong enough to stop this madness in government, or we fracture over third party efforts and meet uncertain political demise."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/12/tea-party-movement-comes_n_3554...

Not as organized as was thought, are they?

toniD's Ya Think?

My solemn meeting on Veterans Day with President Obama at my friend's resting place in Arlington

BY James Gordon Meek
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

ARLINGTON, Va. - He didn't introduce himself. He didn't have to.

President Obama simply stuck out his hand and asked for my name as he stepped toward me amid a bone-chilling drizzle in the Gardens of Stone.

This was Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery. I wasn't there as a reporter, but to visit some friends and family buried there when Obama made an unscheduled stop - a rare presidential walk among what Lincoln called America's "honored dead" - after laying a Veterans Day wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

What I got was an unexpected look into the eyes of a man who intertwined his roles as commander in chief and consoler in chief on a solemn day filled with remembrance and respect for sacrifices made - and sacrifices yet to be made.

I'm sure the cynics will assume this wasjust anotherObama photoop.

If they'd been standing in my boots looking him in the eye, they would have surely choked on their bile.

His presence in Section 60 convinced me that he now carries the heavy burden of command.

I had stopped at Arlington to see the resting place of Ken Taylor, Ed Lenard and Dave Sharrett. Ken and Ed survived their service, in World War II and Korea, and died as old men. Dave did not leave Iraq alive. He was 27.

Obama arrived just before noon at the serene Section 60, where many of the dead from Iraq and Afghanistan are buried together - and where many more heroes will undoubtedly be laid to rest before this President leaves office.

It's a section typically bustling with those visiting loved ones. Every time I go there, more and more graves have been dug into the earth.

The President and First Lady Michelle Obama emerged from their armored limousine hatless in the frigid downpour and took a slow stroll into the soggy rows of white marble headstones. more...

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/11/12/2009-11-12_my_solemn...

toniD's Ya Think?

toniD's Ya Think?

El Diario....

Been a long time since I've seen that paper....

via SEA SHEPHERD U.K.Sea Shepherd UK:

TIME ONLINE
The Times October 14, 2009

Marine plant life holds the secret to preventing global warming
Mangrove forests, salt marshes and seagrass beds, above, cover less than 1 per cent of the world's seabed, but lock away well over half of all carbon to be buried in the ocean floor
Image :1 of 2
Frank Pope, Ocean Correspondent 3 Comments
Recommend? (5) Life in the ocean has the potential to help to prevent global warming, according to a report published today.

Marine plant life sucks 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year, but most of the plankton responsible never reaches the seabed to become a permanent carbon store.

Mangrove forests, salt marshes and seagrass beds are a different matter. Although together they cover less than 1 per cent of the world’s seabed, they lock away well over half of all carbon to be buried in the ocean floor. They are estimated to store 1,650 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year — nearly half of global transport emissions — making them one of the most intense carbon sinks on Earth.

Their capacity to absorb the emissions is under threat, however: the habitats are being lost at a rate of up to 7 per cent a year, up to 15 times faster than the tropical rainforests. A third have already been lost.

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Graphic: blue carbon capture
Halting their destruction could be one of the easiest ways of reducing future emissions, says report, Blue Carbon, a UN collaboration.

With 50 per cent of the world’s population living within 65 miles of the sea, human pressures on nearshore waters are powerful. Since the 1940s, parts of Asia have lost up to 90 per cent of their mangrove forests, robbing both spawning fish and local people of sanctuary from storms.

The salt marshes near estuaries and deltas have suffered a similar fate as they are drained to make room for development. Rich in animal life, they harbour a huge biomass of carbon-fixing vegetation. Seagrass beds often raise the level of the seabed by up to three metres as they bury mats of dead grass but turbid water is threatening their access to sunlight.

“We already know that marine ecosystems are multi-trillion-dollar assets linked to sectors such as tourism, coastal defence, fisheries and water purification services. Now it is emerging that they are natural allies against climate change,” said Achin Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General.

The potential contribution of blue carbon sinks has been ignored up to now, says the report, which was a collaboration between the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and Unesco. Accurate figures for the extent of these habitats are hard to obtain, and may be more than twice the lower estimates used in the report.

“The carbon burial capacity of marine vegetated habitats is phenomenal, 180 times greater than the average burial rate in the open ocean,” say the authors. As a result they lock away between 50 and 70 per cent of the organic carbon in the ocean.

To protect them the authors suggest that a Blue Carbon Fund be launched to help developing nations to protect the habitats. Oceanic carbon sinks should also be traded in the same fashion as terrestrial forests, they say. Together with the UN’s scheme to reduce deforestation, they could deliver up to 25 per cent of emission reductions needed to keep global warming below 2C (3.5F).

Christian Nellemann, the editor of the report said:“On current trends they [ecosystems] may be all largely lost within a couple of decades.”
*** ***
:):( /|\)0(

double listing from above post
;D *poof*

Whose Team Is It, Anyway?

"You know what I don't want to hear right now about the Stupak-Pitts amendment banning abortion coverage from federally subsidized health insurance policies? That it's the price of reform, and prochoice women should shut up and take one for the team... 'If you want to rebuild the American welfare state,' Peter Beinart writes in the Daily Beast, 'there is no alternative' than for Democrats to abandon "cultural" issues like gender and racial equality. Hey, Peter, Representative Stupak and your sixty-four Democratic supporters, Jim Wallis and other antichoice 'progressive' Christians, men: why don't you take one for the team for a change and see how you like it?

For example, budget hawks in Congress say they'll vote against the bill because it's too expensive. Maybe you could win them over if you volunteered to cut out funding for male-exclusive stuff, like prostate cancer, Viagra, male infertility, vasectomies, growth-hormone shots for short little boys, long-term care for macho guys who won't wear motorcycle helmets and, I dunno, psychotherapy for pedophile priests. Men could always pay in advance for an insurance policy rider, as women are blithely told they can do if Stupak becomes part of the final bill."

"this machine kills fascists"

Lawyer: Colorado parents to plead guilty in balloon boy saga so family can stay together

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — The parents accused of pulling a spectacular hoax by reporting that their 6-year-old son had floated away aboard a helium balloon have agreed to plead guilty in a deal that could send them both to jail but protect the wife from deportation.

Richard Heene will plead guilty to attempting to influence a public servant, a felony, said his attorney, David Lane. Heene's wife, Mayumi, a Japanese citizen who could be deported if convicted of more serious charges, will plead guilty to a lesser charge of false reporting to authorities, a misdemeanor.

Lane said the threat of deportation "fueled" negotiations with prosecutors. An attorney for Mayumi Heene said her immigration status was a factor in reaching the deal but would not comment further.

Prosecutors announced criminal charges against the couple Thursday. A spokeswoman for the Larimer County district attorney's office would not discuss whether a plea agreement had been reached.

The Oct. 15 saga gripped a global audience, first with fear for the safety of 6-year-old Falcon Heene and then with anger at his parents when authorities accused them of perpetrating the hoax to drum up attention for a possible reality show.

Lane said the deal does not call for removing Falcon or the couple's other two children — ages 8 and 10 — from the parents' custody.

The plea deal would spare the Heenes the maximum jail time, but Richard Heene could still get up to 90 days and Mayumi up to 60, Lane said.

Without the deal, the charge against Richard Heene carries a possible sentence of two to six years in state prison and a fine of up to $500,000. The charge against his wife is punishable by up to six months in the county jail and a fine up to $750.

Mayumi Heene's attorney, Lee Christian, said he expects her to serve any jail time in a work-release program that would involve some detention and some time at home.

The parents still face an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration, which could lead to federal charges. The balloon briefly forced some planes to switch to a different runway for takeoff from the Denver airport.

Prosecutors said the Heenes agreed to turn themselves in and went to court Thursday to sign documents promising to appear before a judge on Friday. They held hands as they walked into the courthouse. The couple's children were not with them.

Richard Heene also had a booking photo taken at a county jail and was released. He declined to comment.

Lane said prosecutors insisted on a "package deal" that required Richard Heene to plead guilty to a felony so Mayumi Heene could plead guilty to a misdemeanor and avoid deportation.

"He feels like he's got to do what he's got to do to save his wife from being deported," Lane said.

On the day in question, the couple made frantic calls to authorities, saying they feared Falcon might be aboard a homemade balloon that had escaped from their backyard in suburban Fort Collins. That triggered a frenzied response by emergency crews before the balloon landed in a dusty farm field without the boy inside. The Heenes said they later found Falcon hiding at home.

Relief soon turned to suspicion. During a live interview on CNN hours after the balloon chase, Falcon looked to his father and said, "You had said that we did this for a show."

The Heenes' lawyers expect prosecutors to seek restitution in the case. Local and federal authorities spent at least $54,500 chasing the balloon and then searching for Falcon after it landed.

con't

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-us-balloon-boy,0,...

Media Fail: Kimberly Munley Did Not Bring Down Fort Hood Killer

"With the publication of an interview with Sgt. Mark Todd, the actual cop who gunned down the killer at Fort Hood -- following its account of an unnamed eyewitness last night -- the New York Times finally underlined what some of us noticed from nearly the start: the media fell hook, line and sinker once again for a military account of what happened during the tragedy.

What else will turn out false about Fort Hood claims from military, e.g. the "Allahu Akbar" shouts by Hasan? Was there any reason that the military deliberately boosted Munley and slighted Todd?"

Tune in tomorrow for All's FAIL, That Ends FAIL II, when we hear the NYT's "unnamed eyewitness" say, "choke on that Feminazis! That's the price you pay for forcing the administration to readdress the whole abortion thing!"

"this machine kills fascists"

.

Sarah Palin will be hawking her book at:

BORDERS
Friday, November 20, 2009
6670 Sawmill Road Columbus, OH 43235

JOSEPH BETH BOOKSELLERS
Friday, November 20, 2009
Rookwood Pavillion 2692 Madison Road Cincinnati,

Bill Gates: Wall Street Pay Is "Often Too High" »

Reuters | Michelle Nichols | November 12, 2009 at 04:09 PM

Bill Gates said on Wednesday he believes Wall Street pay is "often too high" and that U.S. government ownership of American International Group Inc worries him because it has devalued the giant insurer.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5AB0KL20091112

toniD's Ya Think?

Robert Rubin: The Man at the Nexus of Big Business and Big Government

For anyone who thinks that big Wall Street and Big Government aren't joined at the hip, promoting policies and laws that keep each other fat and happy often at the expense of the American taxpayer, consider the career of Robert Rubin.

Rubin, of course, is largely gone from the public scene after spending 10 disastrous years as a board member and senior executive at Citigroup, the banking giant that epitomizes all that is wrong with American finance, and before that, a largely successful run as Treasury Secretary in the Clinton Administration, which he joined after running another controversial bank, Goldman Sachs. But his legacy looms large, mainly because I believe he was one of the reasons why the financial crisis occurred in the first place.

Citigroup, with nearly $1 trillion in customer deposits, is and always was Too Big To Fail, meaning that because of its size and scope, and the fact that it safe keeps FDIC insured customer deposits, the Federal government wouldn't just let the bank implode as it did Lehman Brothers.

Too many people would be hurt, and not just the Wall Street types. That's why during the height of the financial crisis, policy makers in both parties threw hundreds of billions of dollars at Citigroup to save it from going bust.

Despite all of this, as I show in my new book about the financial crisis, The Sellout, Rubin advocated policies at Citigroup that put the massive bank in jeopardy, and with that put the entire financial system in peril. He was one of the strongest supporters for the bank to begin taking more risk through bond trading, which ultimately led to the firm's downfall, and its government bailout. He had a seat on the Citigroup board, but from that vantage point, he never saw how the firm's risk profile was growing out of control. He was a senior executive at the firm with the lofty title of "Chairman of the Executive Committee," and yet he has time and again explained to me that he had "no operating responsibilities" to monitor the bad behavior that got the firm in trouble in the first place.

More than that, Bob Rubin helped kill the very law that would have prevented Citigroup from being a company in the first place, and would have saved taxpayers a lot of money. The law is known as Glass-Steagall, named after Depression era lawmakers who believed it was a pretty good idea not to mix the risk taking of investment banking and trading, with traditional banking practices such as safeguarding deposits and making loans to small businesses.

Wall Street had made a concerted effort to eliminate Glass-Steagall since at least the early 1980s when the business model of the financial business began to change from one that provided advice to customers--individual investors and corporations-to one that was focused on taking risk, namely trading complex bonds and derivatives where the returns are much larger. more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-gasparino/robert-rubin-the-man-at-...

toniD's Ya Think?

someone got sick so I was called in to work.

Have a great evening all.

Luv ya Nando, Jo te amo, mi amigo!

Later

toniD's Ya Think?

I've been waiting for my "Who's the Caboose" since
October. Glad your on top of it.:)

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_ _ _
brr

1083 | brl vod | WTF

His presence in Section 60 convinced me that he now carries the heavy burden of command. WOW -

Marine plant life holds the secret to preventing global warming
new
Submitted by Ms_Anthrope on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 4:56pm.
Fascinating!!

For our Maggiesboy & Dan
new
Submitted by edna ellen poe on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 5:47pm.
"got a giggle out of me..." :)

Yes, it's long past due...so is this article, for that matter...
new
Submitted by 60th Street on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 5:19pm.
DAMN RIGHT !

- have a good night :)

Yes, Good Idea.

Speaking for myself, I would prefer to de-militarize everything.

Close down our 800 bases in 120 forien countries
or whatever the numbers are.

Give Hawaii back to the Hawaiian people,
Give Alaska back to Russia, or Canada
Give the "U.S. posesions" in the
Caribbean back to those people.

Transform Our Offensive Defence Dept. back
to Defensive operations on our soil.

I'm sorry. The idea that America could someday become a peaceful nation
is just a utopian dream that sometimes pops into my head for
a second.

As long as the war profitiers control the content of our broadcast
media, many americans will continue to believe the false notion that
our armed forces are welcome everywhere on earth, and that America can
do as it pleases because "were #1."

Now i'm ramblin' never mind. :)

Last week when I mentioned that the Catholic Church was going to have to reconcile its reputation for helping the poor with their reputation for fucking the poor in their push for the Stupak-Pitts Amendment.

Well, now we know how they really feel about the poor.

Catholic Church gives D.C. ultimatum

"The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn't change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care.

Under the bill, headed for a D.C. Council vote next month, religious organizations would not be required to perform or make space available for same-sex weddings. But they would have to obey city laws prohibiting discrimination against gay men and lesbians."

...so much for "He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker"!

"this machine kills fascists"

RNC insurance plan covers abortion

"The Republican National Committee’s health insurance plan covers elective abortion – a procedure the party’s own platform calls “a fundamental assault on innocent human life.”

Informed of the coverage, RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho told POLITICO that the policy pre-dates the tenure of current RNC Chairman Michael Steele."

Ha ha! Steele goes under the bus.

I don't suppose the Cigna plan "pre-dates" Dominionism.

"this machine kills fascists"

[oops that's Sarah]
Very impressive, but how many of those included a book report.
==
A new nic - Sarah 'Punchline' Palin
~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

off to work
later...

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

"It's kind of like a shovel brigade after the elephants."

I'm surprised that Olbermann didn't laugh his ass off. I would have-- even on the air.

"SLEEP TIGHT, BATSHIT."
-Bill Maher to 9/11 nut
www.sigzone.blogspot.com

Finally, a real proven documented "conspiracy". This movie really nails the truth. Go see it as soon as you get the opprotunity.

WATCH THE TRAILER:

4 Stars! **** - "ParanoidConspiracies"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duFXuRnd2CU&feature=player_embedded

http://www.crudethemovie.com/

----------------------------

Damn PC you're lucky to get to see that. Where I live we're lucky to even get the major movies let alone almost never art & doc stuff.

I finally might have to subscribe to Netflix to see that.

Thanks for the post of the trailer though.

Check if a high res version is available on You Tube or Apple trailers.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091113/ap_on_re_us/us_mosque_forfeiture

NEW YORK – Federal prosecutors took steps Thursday to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.
In what could prove to be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, prosecutors filed a civil complaint in federal court against the Alavi Foundation, seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets.
The assets include bank accounts; Islamic centers consisting of schools and mosques in New York City, Maryland, California and Houston; more than 100 acres in Virginia; and a 36-story glass office tower in New York.

(article continues)

The Central Zoo Authority in India has confirmed to the BBC that zoos and circuses in the country will no longer be allowed to keep elephants.

A spokesman for the authority said a binding directive had been issued by the authority for the animals to be sent to national parks and sanctuaries.

It is estimated that there are about 140 elephants in zoos and circuses.

Among the most regularly visited by tourists are three elephants in Delhi zoo, which are to be moved imminently.

The directive sent by by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) says zoos and circuses are "not the best places for the large animals" which "require a large area to move about freely".

The CZA says circus and zoo elephants can play an important eco-tourism role in national parks and animal sanctuaries, where they can be properly supervised by mahauts - or elephant handlers.

The body has ordered the transfer to take place "as soon as possible".

It says that the animals have "great use" in eco-tourism and patrolling national parks and tiger reserves.

Correspondents say the CZA's move does not affect hundreds of elephants that are kept in temples across the length and breadth of India - neither does it affect those used for working purposes.

African elephants - held in Delhi and Mysore zoos - will be transferred to national parks as well as the native Indian elephants, officials say.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/8356553.stm

it looks the same. kinda. not posting a new picture. except now the p/s pump works. The alternator could take a week to get to. I hate wiring.

taozen on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 11:23pm.
What fantastic news you bring!

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese government spokesman said Barack Obama should be especially sympathetic to China's opposition to the Dalai Lama and Tibetan independence, as a black president who lauded Abraham Lincoln for helping abolish slavery.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang made the comments at a news conference on Thursday, four days before Obama arrives in China for a summit that will cover the two big powers' vast and sometimes tense economic, diplomatic and security ties.

Obama did not meet Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama, when he was in Washington in early October. But the Dalai Lama has said they may meet after Obama's visit to China, which condemns the Buddhist monk as a separatist for demanding Tibetan self-determination
China is sure to condemn such a meeting, and spokesman Qin underscored -- and possibly intensified -- the political temperature of the issue by citing Obama's background and admiration for President Abraham Lincoln, who opposed the secession of the southern states and sought to abolish slavery, which Qin likened to Tibetan society under the Dalai Lama.

After Obama's inauguration, the U.S. president said he would not have been able to reach that position without the efforts of Lincoln, said Qin.

"He is a black president, and he understands the slavery abolition movement and Lincoln's major significance for that movement," said Qin.

"Lincoln played an incomparable role in protecting the national unity and territorial integrity of the United States."

Beijing calls the Dalai Lama a dangerous "splittist" encouraging Tibetan independence, a charge he denies. He says he is merely seeking true autonomy for Tibet, which last year erupted in riots and protests against the Chinese presence.

China's stance was like Lincoln's, said Qin.

"Thus on this issue we hope that President Obama, more than any other foreign leader, can better, more deeply grasp China's stance on protecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity," said Qin.

Asked about any broader consequences of a possible meeting between Obama and the Dalai Lama, Qin said Beijing opposes any such meetings between the exiled Tibetan leader and foreign leaders, and said the issue was among China's core concerns.

"We must treasure the positive circumstances and opportunities for China-U.S. relations," Qin said.

"In particular, both sides must respect each other's core interests and major concerns, and Tibetan issues are among China's core interests and major concerns."
http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSTRE5AB1BF20091112

An interesting GRITtv segment....
Submitted by cent on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 12:22pm.
=======================

This was great! Thanks for posting it!

http://www.samsedershow.com/node/5476#comment-381161

____________________________________
An interesting GRITtv segment....

____________________________________
cent.
Just two guys tellin' it like it is.

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brr

1083 | brl vod | WTF

Back from work safe and sound despite my one headlight.

Really tired.

What's new?

toniD's Ya Think?

Former US diplomat could make ‘hundreds of millions’ off Iraqi oil fields
By Daniel Tencer

Oil company's involvement casts shadow on legitimacy of Iraqi constitution

A former US ambassador who played an instrumental role in the drafting of Iraq's constitution stands to make "hundreds of millions" of dollars from an oil deal he struck that was only possible because of a constitutional provision he helped push through, news reports say.

A story first broken by the Norwegian newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv earlier this month and moved forward by the Times states that Peter Galbraith, a former US ambassador to Croatia and staffer at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was receiving compensation from Norwegian oil firm DNO when he helped negotiate the Iraqi constitution.

According to the Times, Galbraith was instrumental in helping Kurdistan gain semi-autonomy under Iraq's constitution, which gave the Kurdish regional government control over future oil development. At the time, by Galbraith's own admission, he was being paid by DNO to help negotiate oil contracts with the Kurdish government.

Records obtained by the Times show Galbraith received a five-percent stake in Kurdistan's Tawke oil field, which was developed by DNO and struck oil in late 2005. The Times has no estimate of the value of Galbraith's stake in that oil field, but notes that a lawsuit involving it seeks damages in the hundreds of millions. A report in the Times of London puts Galbraith's share at "reportedly $100 million."
Story continues below...

The news could raise already-prominent fears among Iraqis and anti-war activists that oil was the primary reason for the Iraq war. But it could also cast a shadow on the legitimacy of Iraq's constitution.

“The idea that a foreign oil company was in the room drafting the Iraqi Constitution has me reeling,” Feisal al-Istrabadi, a former Iraqi ambassador to the UN, told the Times of London. “It casts a tremendous pall on the legitimacy of the process. We do not let Shell draft the constitution of Nigeria.”

Reidar Visser, a researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, told NPR that the fact Galbraith was being paid by DNO at the time he helped negotiate the constitution is "scandalous." She noted that many Iraqi politicians were excluded from the process even as Galbraith got front-row seats.

James Paul, executive director of the Global Policy Forum, noted that Galbraith has been a strong advocate of the idea that Iraq should be broken up into smaller countries to prevent ongoing violence. That plan would see Kurdistan gain independence as a nation.

"Galbraith, a former US diplomat and congressional staffer, was working from 2003 to 2004 to prevent a strong central government from emerging in Iraq, the kind of government that might prevent big foreign oil companies from returning to control the country’s resources," Paul said in a statement. "Now we know that under the guise of sympathy for the Kurds, he had another very personal goal -- millions in personal profit from an oil deal that a Norwegian company struck with the Kurdish regional government."

In a letter to the New York Times, Galbraith stressed that he had stopped working for the US government in any capacity in 2003, and was operating as an independent consultant when he worked on the Iraqi constitution and the DNO oil deal.

Mr. Galbraith says he held no official position in the United States or Iraq during this entire period and acted purely as a private citizen. He maintains that his largely undeclared dual role was entirely proper. He says that he was simply advocating positions that the Kurds had documented before his relationship with DNO even began.

“What is true is that I undertook business activities that were entirely consistent with my long-held policy views,” Mr. Galbraith said in his response. “I believe my work with DNO (and other companies) helped create the Kurdistan oil industry which helps provide Kurdistan an economic base for the autonomy its people almost unanimously desire.”

“So, while I may have had interests, I see no conflict,” Mr. Galbraith said.

Galbraith is the son of famed economist John Kenneth Galbraith. Early on in his career, the younger Galbraith was reportedly instrumental in uncovering Saddam Hussein's gassing of Iraq's Kurdish population.

In September, he was fired from his job as the number-two person in the UN's mission in Afghanistan, after he criticized the UN for legitimizing the re-election of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in an election that Galbraith and many others view as corrupt and illegitimate.

http://rawstory.com/2009/11/diplomat-millions-iraqi-oil-fields/

toniD's Ya Think?

http://www.truthout.org/1111097

[excerpt]

A Morally Bankrupt Military: When Soldiers and Their Families Become Expendable
Wednesday 11 November 2009

by: Dahr Jamail, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

The military operates through indoctrination. Soldiers are programmed to develop a mindset that resists any acknowledgment of injury and sickness, be it physical or psychological. As a consequence, tens of thousands of soldiers continue to serve, even being deployed to combat zones like Iraq and/or Afghanistan, despite persistent injuries. According to military records, over 43,000 troops classified as "nondeployable for medical reasons" have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan nevertheless.

The recent atrocity at Fort Hood is an example of this. Maj. Nidal Hasan had worked as a counselor at Walter Reed, hearing countless stories of bloodshed, horror and death from dismembered veterans from the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. While he had not yet served in Iraq or Afghanistan, the major was overloaded with secondary trauma, coupled with ongoing harassment about his being a Muslim. This, along with other factors, contributed towards Hasan falling into a desperation so deep he was willing to slaughter fellow soldiers, and is indicative of fissures running deep into the crumbling edifice upon which the US military stands.

[end excerpt]

The Chinese kidnapped and disappeared the child who was chosen to become the next Dalai Lama -- and then the Chinese government picked their own replacement to succeed the current Dalai Lama.

Now, really. Is it possible to believe anything the Chinese say about their Tibet expansion?

toni glad you got back with out the po leese hasslin ya

nora some day we will get some good exchange going/

good night lou dobbs l hope the bed bugs bite

Goldman To Private Insurers: No Health Care Reform At All Is Best
Sam Stein

A Goldman Sachs analysis of health care legislation has concluded that, as far as the bottom line for insurance companies is concerned, the best thing to do is nothing. A close second would be passing a watered-down version of the Senate Finance Committee's bill.

A study put together by Goldman in mid-October looks at the estimated stock performance of the private insurance industry under four variations of reform legislation. The study focused on the five biggest insurers whose shares are traded on Wall Street: Aetna, UnitedHealth, WellPoint, CIGNA and Humana.

The Senate Finance Committee bill, which Goldman's analysts conclude is the version most likely to survive the legislative process, is described as the "base" scenario. Under that legislation (which did not include a public plan) the earnings per share for the top five insurers would grow an estimated five percent from 2010 through 2019. And yet, the "variance with current valuation" -- essentially, what the value of the stock is on the market -- is projected to drop four percent.

Things are much worse, Goldman estimates, for legislation that resembles what was considered and (to a certain extent) passed by the House of Representatives. This is, the firm deems, the "bear case" scenario -- in which earnings per share for the top five insurers would decline an estimated one percent from 2010 through 2019 and the variance with current valuation is projected to be negative 36 percent.

What the firm sees as the best path forward for the private insurance industry's bottom line is, to be blunt, inaction.

The study's authors advise that if no reform is passed, earnings per share would grow an estimated ten percent from 2010 through 2019, and the value of the stock would rise an estimated 59 percent during that time period.

The next best thing for the insurance industry would be if the legislation passed by the Senate Finance Committee is watered down significantly. Described as a "bull case" scenario -- in which there is "moderation of provisions in the current SFC plan" or "changes prior to the major implementation in 2013" -- earnings per share for the five biggest insurers would grow an estimated ten percent and the variance with current valuation would rise an estimated 47 percent.

The report, a Goldman official stressed, was analytic not advocacy-based. Their job was to provide a sober assessment of the market realities facing private insurers under various versions of health care reform.
Story continues below

"If no reform at all happens you would see the largest rise in EPS," a Goldman official acknowledged. "But what we are doing is just analyzing what the stocks would do under different scenarios."

The study does note on the front page that the firm "does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports." Those companies include Aetna, Wells Point and United Health. more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/12/goldman-to-private-insure_n_355...

toniD's Ya Think?

The deficits! Your Beltway media is sore afraid of them! But like a family who goes to live in a haunted house only to refuse to move out once the ancient demons that reside in the tool shed reveal themselves and announce their intention to eat their children in allegiance to Satan, they don't do much to account for the grandiose failures in judgment they have made that have sped the way to wrack and ruin.

You don't hear anyone ever talking about "bending the cost curve" of the Afghanistan War. And the idea that the taxpayers, having invested billions propping up a coven of incompetent banks, should receive the same sort of return on investment as a Warren Buffet is treated as if it sprang from the skull of an alien being. In this way, they enable members of Congress, who never take responsibility for the decisions they make that pave the way to potential deficit crises, to go right on making the same sorts of decisions.

And now, via The Hill, comes this:

Senators from both parties on Tuesday put new pressure on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to turn the power to trim entitlement benefits over to an independent commission.

Seven members of the Senate Budget Committee threatened during a Tuesday hearing to withhold their support for critical legislation to raise the debt ceiling if the bill calling for the creation of a bipartisan fiscal reform commission were not attached. Six others had previously made such threats, bringing the total to 13 senators drawing a hard line on the committee legislation.

And here's what the commission would do:

Among its chief responsibilities would be closing the gap between tax revenue coming in and the larger cost of paying for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. The Government Accountability Office recently reported the gap is on pace to reach an "unsustainable" $63 trillion in 2083.

The panel would also have the power to craft legislation that would change the tax code and set limits on government spending.

The legislation would then be subject to an up-or-down vote; it could not be amended.

In other words, a group of senators have ginned up an idea to outsource their responsibility to some wondrous and new deficit-hawk commission in order to steal entitlement money to pay for their own foolish and profligate spending.
Story continues below

By doing so, they limit their exposure to bad or unpopular legislative decisions, preserving their career longevity while vesting enormous power in a body over whom the American people have no oversight. And to get their way, they'll threaten to basically blow up the government.

Oh, and why are "Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits" in this commission's crosshairs? Well, why try to get our money back from Citigroup when the elderly and the poor have so much more they can give?

The supporters of this crapulence are, not surprisingly, serial crapulence supporters: Senators Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), George Voinovich (R-Ohio) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.). They've gotten their talking points together, and are happy to repeat them robotically, for reporters:

You rarely do have the leverage to make a fundamental change," said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.).

[...]

"There are rare moments in this institution when you can implement fundamental change," Bayh said during Tuesday's hearing. "This is one of them."

So does this make Nancy Pelosi, who has "scoffed" at the idea, some sort of debt-hugging monster who wants to destroy the future, for the children? No. She just understands that there's this thing called the legislative process that shouldn't be thrown in the dustbin for the sake of allowing a group of unelected idiots with blue ribbons pinned to their chests to decide funding priorities without any means of holding them accountable for their decisions.

Back in February, The Nation's William Greider warned about the Coming Of The Deficit Commission:

Governing elites in Washington and Wall Street have devised a fiendishly clever "grand bargain" they want President Obama to embrace in the name of "fiscal responsibility." The government, they argue, having spent billions on bailing out the banks, can recover its costs by looting the Social Security system. They are also targeting Medicare and Medicaid. The pitch sounds preposterous to millions of ordinary working people anxious about their economic security and worried about their retirement years. But an impressive armada is lined up to push the idea--Washington's leading think tanks, the prestige media, tax-exempt foundations, skillful propagandists posing as economic experts and a self-righteous billionaire spending his fortune to save the nation from the elderly.

These players are promoting a tricky way to whack Social Security benefits, but to do it behind closed doors so the public cannot see what's happening or figure out which politicians to blame. The essential transaction would amount to misappropriating the trillions in Social Security taxes that workers have paid to finance their retirement benefits. This swindle is portrayed as "fiscal reform." In fact, it's the political equivalent of bait-and-switch fraud. more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/12/insane-deficit-commission_n_355...

This has to be stopped! Now!

toniD's Ya Think?

Submitted by toniD on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 11:53pm.
Former US diplomat could make ‘hundreds of millions’ off Iraqi oil fields
By Daniel Tencer

Oil company's involvement casts shadow on legitimacy of Iraqi constitution

“The idea that a foreign oil company was in the room drafting the Iraqi Constitution has me reeling,” Feisal al-Istrabadi, a former Iraqi ambassador to the UN, told the Times of London. “It casts a tremendous pall on the legitimacy of the process. We do not let Shell draft the constitution of Nigeria.”

*******

Another Fucker that should be in jail,yesterday..

Isn't it nice to know what our Troops really died for over there..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

MMRules

Insane Deficit Commission Idea Gathers Momentum
Submitted by toniD on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 12:24am.
==
related articles
http://sec.wbir.com/article/0bRdb4z1WBacb?q=Warren+Buffett

Looks like it,s about time to go back to the 50-50+1.
[which is what this group seems to want for themselves]
Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. It is the only way out of this. Its time to grag the Tbaggers by the... and tell them to shut up. We either win this time with progressive action or down the rat hole we go.

Why is Pelosi important in this process?
"
Senators from both parties on Tuesday put new pressure on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to turn the power to trim entitlement benefits over to an independent commission.
"
Seven members of the Senate Budget Committee threatened during a Tuesday hearing to withhold their support for critical legislation to raise the debt ceiling if the bill calling for the creation of a bipartisan fiscal reform commission were not attached. Six others had previously made such threats, bringing the total to 13 senators drawing a hard line on the committee legislation.
[who are the other 6]

[Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), George Voinovich (R-Ohio) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.)]

==
“I don’t mind giving regular order a chance,” Gregg said. “But it’s had the chance for years.”

And Conrad signaled that he may likewise have run out of patience with the status quo, suggesting that if Democratic leaders refuse to couple a vote on a bipartisan fiscal task force of some kind with the debt limit increase, he would seek to attach a commission proposal to other crucial legislation.

“There are other vehicles,” Conrad said Tuesday, “including healthcare.”
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/67293-sens-squeeze-speaker-over-commi...

[Pelosi,I guess, has the power to attach a bill to another bill.]
==
fyi By Satyam Khanna on Apr 3rd, 2009
Ten Democrats vote for Sens. Kyl and Lincoln’s bill protecting the children of multimillionaires.

Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) recently introduced a $250 billion amendment to slash estate taxes for the heirs of multimillion-dollar estates. Yesterday, the Senate narrowly passed the bill by a 51-48 vote. Joining Republicans in approving the bill were ten Senate Democrats:
Baucus (D-MT), Bayh (D-IN), Cantwell (D-WA), Landrieu (D-LA), Lincoln (D-AR), Murray (D-WA), Nelson (D-FL), Nelson (D-NE), Pryor (D-AR), Tester (D-MT)

As the New York Times explained, under Obama’s budget, “99.8 percent of estates will never — ever — pay a penny of estate tax. The heirs of the remaining 0.2 percent of estates are who Ms. Lincoln and Mr. Kyl are so worried about.”
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/03/estate-tax-lincoln-democrats/

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

Spent all day
Submitted by 1ǝʇɐnbǝzʇɐnb on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 11:31pm.
==
Do you know the one about turning the oil pump to circulate oil through the rebuilt engine before you start it up? In the fords I've worked on - you can reach the oil pump through the hole the distributor is in. You take the distributor out and with a long ratchet extension, a 1/4 inch socket[?] and a battery powered drill spin the pump until oil comes out above the valves.

Like those handles for the valve covers.

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

Nuclear option indeed
Submitted by jbenet on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 2:45am.
Insane Deficit Commission Idea Gathers Momentum
Submitted by toniD on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 12:24am.
==
related articles
http://sec.wbir.com/article/0bRdb4z1WBacb?q=Warren+Buffett

Looks like it,s about time to go back to the 50-50+1.
[which is what this group seems to want for themselves]
Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. It is the only way out of this. Its time to grag the Tbaggers by the... and tell them to shut up. We either win this time with progressive action or down the rat hole we go.
... ... go to above post of jbenet ... ...

ALSO MMRules posts (to name a few) of the PREVIOUS STREAM also (which I am getting posts info in a brief bit) -- but also: Welcome to The Bush Crime Family !
Submitted by MMRules on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 12:50am.
Submitted by toniD on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 11:53pm.
Former US diplomat could make ‘hundreds of millions’ off Iraqi oil fields
By Daniel Tencer

Former US diplomat could
Submitted by toniD on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 11:53pm.
Former US diplomat could make ‘hundreds of millions’ off Iraqi oil fields
By Daniel Tencer

Oil company's involvement casts shadow on legitimacy of Iraqi constitution

A former US ambassador who played an instrumental role in the drafting of Iraq's constitution stands to make "hundreds of millions" of dollars from an oil deal he struck that was only possible because of a constitutional provision he helped push through, news reports say.
...

=================

If he is not alone, and more parties are involved, then wouldn't that result in a 'conspiracy to defraud'?

Yes, that would be great for sure....

Fertility shmility.

Like -- this isn't a breach of contract or a paternity suit or scientized rape? Too strange.

The mother probably loves her children, so combining that feeling with the desire not to disrupt the lives of the children and family with a court battle seems to have gotten this doctor off the hook with a mere fine. Creepy.

http://www.greenwichtime.com/ci_13766571

[excerpt]

Dr. Ben D. Ramaley walks outside his practice in Southport on Monday morning. (Keelin Daly/Staff photo)Hundreds of women have trusted him with their bodies, and their dreams of motherhood. Many depend on him as their doctor today.
But for nearly seven years, none of Dr. Ben D. Ramaley's patients have known that the prominent obstetrician/gynecologist had been accused of an almost unimaginable act - substituting his own sperm for that of a patient's husband during an artificial insemination procedure.

The allegation was made against the veteran Greenwich doctor in a 2005 medical malpractice lawsuit - which was quickly settled, then sealed, the very court documents shredded. The suit was filed by a couple when a DNA test revealed that the husband was not the biological father of their twin girls, born after an insemination procedure performed by Ramaley.

The state Department of Public Health investigated after the lawsuit, but did not order Ramaley to undergo a DNA test - even though state law appears to give the department authority to do so. Instead, in a 2008 consent agreement negotiated with Ramaley's attorney, they fined the doctor $10,000 for "using the wrong man's sperm" in the procedure and allowed him to keep an unrestricted license.

The lawsuit was settled before Ramaley had to answer questions. Through a letter from his attorney, Ramaley denied the accusation to the Department of Public Health during its investigation. Contacted this week outside his Southport clinic, Ramaley said he had no comment.

A DPH spokesman insisted this week that the department
did not have jurisdiction to ask Ramaley to submit to the test, which would determine the truth or falsity of the claim that he fathered the twins himself.
Greenwich Time obtained much of the state's investigative file on the matter through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Lawsuit follows paternity test

The case began in 2002 when a woman visited Ramaley, 61, at Brookside Greenwich Ob-Gyn Associates to have an intrauterine insemination performed. She brought a sample of her husband's sperm and the hope that the treatment might help the couple get pregnant.

Nine months later, she gave birth to twin girls.

It should have been a joyous occasion, but the mixed-race couple quickly noticed something wasn't right. The twins had a strikingly fair complexion that seemed impossible, considering their father was black.

Their appearance was so uncharacteristic of the couple that people frequently asked if the twins were adopted, according the lawsuit.

After several months of speculation and anxiety, the couple sought a paternity test in March 2004. The husband was not the twins' biological father.

The couple filed a lawsuit several months later. One count alleged that Ramaley, identified in the suit only as

Obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Ben Ramaley still has a practice, Southport Women's Healthcare, at 2600 Post Road in Fairfield. (Keelin Daly/Staff photo)"Dr. Roe," had not only used the wrong sperm, but intentionally used his own in an "extreme and outrageous" act.
"Upon information and belief, Dr. Roe intentionally inserted his own sperm into (the patient), causing (the patient) to become pregnant and give birth to children biologically fathered by Dr. Roe," the lawsuit stated.

"Dr. Roe intentionally concealed that he had inseminated (the patient) with sperm from someone other than (her husband), despite the fact that he knew he had done so."

The couple's lawyer drafted a set of questions, asking Ramaley if he used his own sperm in the procedure.

But before Ramaley had to answer under oath, the lawsuit was withdrawn, the case settled and a confidentiality ruling was imposed prohibiting anyone involved in the case from discussing it.

Greenwich Time is not identifying the couple to protect the family's privacy.

Because of the gag order, principals in the case declined to give Greenwich Time explanations about what led the plaintiffs to make the allegation that Ramaley used his own sperm.

Ramaley "always maintained this was an accident," Ramaleys' attorney, Steven Errante, said. "There was never any proof of the allegations made in the complaint."

...

[end excerpt]

This story is just too wierd-- like sloppiness or mad science or
Submitted by nora on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 5:30am.
Fertility shmility.

Like -- this isn't a breach of contract or a paternity suit or scientized rape? Too strange.
*** ***

...part of the sad deal should have been -- for him never to "practice" again!
*** ***
GRRR

thats tough to believe.

AP Source: Gitmo detainees, including 9/11 mastermind, coming to NY for criminal trial

WASHINGTON (AP) — Self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees will be sent to New York to face trial in a civilian federal court, an Obama administration official said Friday.

The official said Attorney General Eric Holder plans to announce the decision later in the morning.

The official is not authorized to discuss the decision before the announcement, so spoke on condition of anonymity.

Bringing such notorious suspects to U.S. soil to face trial is a key step in President Barack Obama's plan to close the terror suspect detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Obama initially planned to close the detention center by Jan. 22, but the administration is no longer expected to meet that deadline.

It is also a major legal and political test of Obama's overall approach to terrorism. If the case suffers legal setbacks, the administration will face second-guessing from those who never wanted it in a civilian courtroom. And if lawmakers get upset about notorious terrorists being brought to their home regions, they may fight back against other parts of Obama's agenda.

The New York case may also force the court system to confront a host of difficult legal issues surrounding counter-terrorism programs begun after the 2001 attacks, including the harsh interrogation techniques once used on some of the suspects while in CIA custody. The most severe method — waterboarding, or simulated drowning — was used on Mohammed 183 times in 2003, before the practice was banned.

Holder will also announce that a major suspect in the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, will face justice before a military commission, as will a handful of other detainees to be identified at the same announcement, the official said.

It was not immediately clear where commission-bound detainees like al-Nashiri might be sent, but a military brig in South Carolina has been high on the list of considered sites.

The actual transfer of the detainees from Guantanamo to New York isn't expected to happen for many more weeks because formal charges have not been filed against most of them.

The attorney general has decided the case of the five Sept. 11 suspects should be handled by prosecutors working in the Southern District of New York, which has held a number of major terrorism trials in recent decades at a courthouse in lower Manhattan, just blocks from where the World Trade Center towers once stood.

Holder had been considering other possible trial locations, including Virginia, Washington, DC, and a different courthouse in New York City. Those districts could all end up conducting trials of other Guantanamo detainees sent to federal court later on.

The attorney general's decision in these cases comes just before a Monday deadline for the government to decide how to proceed against 10 detainees facing military commissions.

In the military system, the five Sept. 11 suspects had faced the death penalty, but the official would not say if the Justice Department would also seek capital punishment against the men once they are in the federal system.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-ap-us-guantanamo-us-tria...

toniD's Ya Think?

Submitted by edna ellen poe on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 4:09pm.

He looks hideous.
People need to leave paleness to Irish people. Only we can swing it.

:)

"SLEEP TIGHT, BATSHIT."
-Bill Maher to 9/11 nut
www.sigzone.blogspot.com

Free to Lose
By PAUL KRUGMAN

Consider, for a moment, a tale of two countries. Both have suffered a severe recession and lost jobs as a result — but not on the same scale. In Country A, employment has fallen more than 5 percent, and the unemployment rate has more than doubled. In Country B, employment has fallen only half a percent, and unemployment is only slightly higher than it was before the crisis.

Don’t you think Country A might have something to learn from Country B?

This story isn’t hypothetical. Country A is the United States, where stocks are up, G.D.P. is rising, but the terrible employment situation just keeps getting worse. Country B is Germany, which took a hit to its G.D.P. when world trade collapsed, but has been remarkably successful at avoiding mass job losses. Germany’s jobs miracle hasn’t received much attention in this country — but it’s real, it’s striking, and it raises serious questions about whether the U.S. government is doing the right things to fight unemployment.

Here in America, the philosophy behind jobs policy can be summarized as “if you grow it, they will come.” That is, we don’t really have a jobs policy: we have a G.D.P. policy. The theory is that by stimulating overall spending we can make G.D.P. grow faster, and this will induce companies to stop firing and resume hiring.

The alternative would be policies that address the job issue more directly. We could, for example, have New-Deal-style employment programs. Perhaps such a thing is politically impossible now — Glenn Beck would describe anything like the Works Progress Administration as a plan to recruit pro-Obama brownshirts — but we should note, for the record, that at their peak, the W.P.A. and the Civilian Conservation Corps employed millions of Americans, at relatively low cost to the budget.

Alternatively, or in addition, we could have policies that support private-sector employment. Such policies could range from labor rules that discourage firing to financial incentives for companies that either add workers or reduce hours to avoid layoffs.

And that’s what the Germans have done. Germany came into the Great Recession with strong employment protection legislation. This has been supplemented with a “short-time work scheme,” which provides subsidies to employers who reduce workers’ hours rather than laying them off. These measures didn’t prevent a nasty recession, but Germany got through the recession with remarkably few job losses.

Should America be trying anything along these lines? In a recent interview, Lawrence Summers, the Obama administration’s highest-ranking economist, was dismissive: “It may be desirable to have a given amount of work shared among more people. But that’s not as desirable as expanding the total amount of work.” True. But we are not, in fact, expanding the total amount of work — and Congress doesn’t seem willing to spend enough on stimulus to change that unfortunate fact. So shouldn’t we be considering other measures, if only as a stopgap?

Now, the usual objection to European-style employment policies is that they’re bad for long-run growth — that protecting jobs and encouraging work-sharing makes companies in expanding sectors less likely to hire and reduces the incentives for workers to move to more productive occupations. And in normal times there’s something to be said for American-style “free to lose” labor markets, in which employers can fire workers at will but also face few barriers to new hiring.

But these aren’t normal times. Right now, workers who lose their jobs aren’t moving to the jobs of the future; they’re entering the ranks of the unemployed and staying there. Long-term unemployment is already at its highest levels since the 1930s, and it’s still on the rise.

And long-term unemployment inflicts long-term damage. Workers who have been out of a job for too long often find it hard to get back into the labor market even when conditions improve. And there are hidden costs, too — not least for children, who suffer physically and emotionally when their parents spend months or years unemployed.

So it’s time to try something different.

Just to be clear, I believe that a large enough conventional stimulus would do the trick. But since that doesn’t seem to be in the cards, we need to talk about cheaper alternatives that address the job problem directly. Should we introduce an employment tax credit, like the one proposed by the Economic Policy Institute? Should we introduce the German-style job-sharing subsidy proposed by the Center for Economic Policy Research? Both are worthy of consideration.

The point is that we need to start doing something more than, and different from, what we’re already doing. And the experience of other countries suggests that it’s time for a policy that explicitly and directly targets job creation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/opinion/13krugman.html?_r=1&partner=rs...

toniD's Ya Think?

GOP chairman ends abortion
insurance for employees
A chagrined GOP Chairman Michael Steele has told Republican National Committee staff to immediately stop providing RNC employees with insurance for elective abortions -- an option that Republicans strongly oppose as Democrats try to pass a health care overhaul bill.

LINK

toniD's Ya Think?

Glenn Beck would describe anything like the Works Progress Administration as a plan to recruit pro-Obama brownshirts

yeah but he could add that it doesn't really matter, does it? because glenn and the teabaggers would do - or rather do - it regardless, no matter what obama does

this should actually give obama more freedom to be what he likes to be, since nothing he does affects the reaction from the opposition

so might as well

Lou Dobbs for president!
The former CNN host sounds like he's running for office -- and if so, he's a GOP nightmare
By Joe Conason

The evening of Nov. 11, when Lou Dobbs formally ended his career in journalism, may mark the beginning of a political nightmare for conservatives. In his departing remarks, he surely hinted at bigger ambitions when he said that "some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem solving as well as to contribute positively to the great understanding of the issues of our day."

The next day, in his first radio broadcast after resigning from the news network, he appealed directly to independent voters, whom he said "dominate the registration rolls in this country for the first time," and went on to criticize President Obama as a leader who "focuses on the partisan and racial" in a "21st century post-partisan, post-racial society."

Having observed the former CNN anchor for many years, including a number of recent appearances on his nightly broadcast, I suspect that he may well nurture ambitions to run for president, as reported in the trade press -- and could mount a formidable campaign drawing upon the same resentful remnant that Republicans hope to mobilize in 2012. Except that he probably won't be running as a Republican. more...

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/joe_conason/index.html?story=/opinion/...

toniD's Ya Think?

Anyone superstitious?

toniD's Ya Think?

hopefully we will have enough independent vote for me i'm not black candidates that the vote on the right will be totally fragmented and we might be able to get more progressives in.

Official: Craig to step down
as White House lawyer
The White House's top lawyer is announcing his resignation on Friday, senior administration officials said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091113/ap_on_re_as/as_craig_resignation;_yl...

toniD's Ya Think?

Hong Kong Is New Target of U.S. Crackdown on Taxes (Update1)

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong is a new target of U.S. prosecutors pursuing a global campaign against evaders of federal taxes, spurred by data acquired in their crackdown on Swiss banks.

Prosecutors are trying to determine what role financial professionals in Hong Kong play in tax evasion, according to people familiar with the matter. They are examining how much taxable money was moved to the former British colony that returned to China in 1997, whether accounts were based there in name only and what banks were involved, the people said.

The push follows the government’s success in penetrating Swiss bank secrecy and learning from insiders how UBS AG helped Americans evade taxes. UBS, the largest Swiss bank by assets, avoided prosecution by agreeing in February to pay $780 million and disclose account data on 250 clients. In August, it agreed to supply information on another 4,450.

“They must have reason to believe this is a target-rich environment and a very significant amount of tax evasion is going on there,” said Peter Zeidenberg, a former federal prosecutor now at DLA Piper LLP in Washington.

Since the February settlement, prosecutors have won guilty pleas from six UBS clients who described a web of bankers, lawyers and advisers who helped conceal income and assets. All six hid money in shell companies outside Switzerland. Four used Hong Kong corporations, including toy salesman Jeffrey Chernick.

Probes Beyond Switzerland

Debriefings of Chernick started probes of financial institutions in Switzerland and beyond, “in particular tax- haven jurisdictions such as Hong Kong,” prosecutor Michael Ben’Ary said Oct. 30 at Chernick’s sentencing in Florida.

“From the public statements at the Chernick hearing and elsewhere, the government has made it very clear that they are interested in other secrecy jurisdictions, especially Hong Kong,” said Douglas Tween, an attorney for Chernick, 70.

Chernick told prosecutors he hid sales commissions in an $8 million UBS account in the name of a Hong Kong corporation.

Hong Kong is already changing its laws to implement the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s efforts to enhance tax transparency, said Katherine Kwong, a spokeswoman for the government’s Financial Services and Treasury Bureau.

These changes would help “significantly enhance Hong Kong’s position as a transparent tax jurisdiction,” she said yesterday. more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=axQFGFjoAzkE&pos=3

toniD's Ya Think?

Yup! (But we know why[s] not [prolly].)

Looks like KO was more watchable tonight. Not just the same 3,4 fucking guys (and Gene).

I love Reverend Welton!! I know some of you do not agree. Still frighteningly similar hair to Keith's. Those lights seem to turn everyone's grey hair blue.

OH FUCK it's Jonathan Alter. Nevermind.

I didn't have to do a rebuild. The engine is still too strong to tear into it that far. I'm just trying to change it from drivable to reliable. I had to replace the radiator and it didn't make sense to put on a new radiator without replacing the water pump. One thing lead to another...

I'll remember that trick when I do rebuild it. Assuming it doesn't blow up after I try to start it this time. It's very possible that I have the flux capacitor on backwards. If so I'll become a plasma ball upon ignition. That wouldn't be good but maybe I'll see maggiesboy's mac when I get there.

sorry for your loss mb! enjoy your upgrade.

;)

Another Afghan war: Media leaks spark administration fight

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration's internal debate over Afghan policy has escalated into a battle of media leaks that's straining relations between officials who're seeking a major troop increase and those who want a more limited approach and a greater focus on domestic priorities.

The feud also has poisoned ties between the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan and the U.S. ambassador in Kabul, and left the administration struggling for leverage to press Afghan President Hamid Karzai to appoint untainted officials to his new government, attack corruption and share power with the parliament and provincial officials.

The battle in the media prompted normally mild-mannered Defense Secretary Robert Gates to lash out at leakers Thursday, telling reporters on a flight to Oshkosh, Wis., that the disclosures do "not serve the country or . . . the military," and "everyone should just shut up."

It may be too late for that.

A U.S. defense official said the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, feels he was "stabbed in the back" by Karl Eikenberry, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan. Three months ago, Eikenberry supported McChrystal's request for more troops, but last week he sent a classified cable opposing it until Karzai shows that he can be trusted.

The official, like others who were interviewed for this article, requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly.

However, according to a half-dozen U.S. military and administration officials, published reports that Obama was settling on a major troop increase, which began with a McClatchy story last Saturday, have deprived Eikenberry and other officials of the ability to tell Karzai that no more American troops will be forthcoming if he doesn't agree to implement reforms.

Eikenberry wrote the cable last Friday after a meeting in which he pressed Karzai to send his brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, the political power in southern Kandahar province who allegedly has links to the drug trade, anywhere outside the country, and to embrace a program of overhauls, known as the "Afghanistan Compact," that was drafted by U.S. and Afghan officials, three U.S. officials said.

Karzai rejected the demands, the officials said. more...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/78813.html

toniD's Ya Think?

The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia.

everybody knows THAT. ;-)

Fucking off now.

I think the eye-lightening contacts make it worse(I assume it's contacts and not some other kind of product) If he had left his eyes natural it might have set it off better.

As we talk about a person's face as if it were a room we were staging.

Or maybe that's just me...

Submitted by gloryoski on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 8:52am.
Looks like KO was more watchable tonight. Not just the same 3,4 fucking guys (and Gene).
--------

The worst of that lot is Howard Fineman. What a pathetic display of a journalism. Besides being incredibly lazy, his talking points are usually from the Republican narrative. As Media Matters said of Fineman , "he looks at Republican failures and sees problems for Democrats."

I should go back to bed. But I'm compelled to go to work :(

took the day off to prepare for tomorrow's garage sale

it's either gonna be fun, or very boring

it's either going to be successful, aka i'ma gonna make some money - or a total waste of time

a friend is coming over to help me sell and that's a good thing, because one thing i am very bad at is selling, and she seems to be good

supposed to be very nice weather so at least it'll be nice to be outdoor chatting with neighbors and walkers-by

Sigue chingando...

Y sí que te lo puedo ver ahora.

Maybe tonight, when I'm driving to work, I'll have both headlights and the dash lights will be brighter!

Later!

toniD's Ya Think?

Fox News Declares Cyberwar on Liberal Blogosphere

How do you annoy the maximum number of Liberal blogs with minimal effort? If you're Fox News, all you have to do is shut down the YouTube channel that supplies them with infuriating O'Reilly Factor clips. They did this today!

Spend even a few minutes on a politically-inclined blog that leans to the left, and you'll spot the little red-and-white "News1News" logo (above) attached to the upper-left corner a YouTube clip, usually of Glenn Beck ranting hilariously or otherwise being horrible. News1News specializes in capturing and uploading Fox bloviator's most outrageous statements for all of eternity. And each day, we bloggers—from the Huffington Post, Mediaite, Truthdig, Gawker, etc.—plucked newsworthy clips from News1News' Youtube channel, surrounded them with our words, and put them on our sites. (In fact, Mediaite's feature "Your Moment of Glenn" is all News1News clips.) From all this blog love, News1News videos had more than 20 million cumulative views by the time it was shut down. It was the simple, convenient way to stoke Liberal ire!

con't

http://gawker.com/5403691/fox-news-declares-cyberwar-on-the-liberal-blog...

are the dash lights being retrained?

NOT exaggerated. Man that puppy was flailing like Sarah Palin in a Katie Couric interview.

So far the restore is working well. I'm glad I opted for renting a little space on their servers.

Doubtful I'll get a BRR show out tonight but who knows, with Mac all things are possible.

I turned it on on March 16, 2006 and never turned it off. It did shutdown a couple times when there were power failures, but other than that it was running and crunching SETI data continuously.

Actually I think I'm gonna put a new drive in it and go for another 3 or 4 years.

The Lufkin, Texas, man told of driving his luxury, French-built Bugatti Veyron when the bird distracted him, said La Marque police Lt. Greg Gilchrist.

Lufkin.... Enough said.

By Agence France-Presse
Friday, November 13th, 2009 -- 9:57 am

Share on Facebook Stumble This!
LONDON — Former prime minister Tony Blair is to be called to give evidence to an inquiry into the Iraq war, officials announced on Friday, six years after he controversially backed the US-led invasion.

Blair will be among senior figures from the ruling Labour Party to go before the independent inquiry early next year, just months before the next general election in June, which the party is tipped to lose.

John Chilcot, a former civil servant who heads the inquiry, said the first five weeks of public sessions, starting on November 24, would hear from senior officials and military officers.

"We will ask them to explain the main decisions and tasks, and their involvement," Chilcot said.

"That will give us a clear understanding of how policy developed and was implemented, and what consideration was given to alternative approaches."

http://rawstory.com/2009/11/tony-blair-face-iraq-probe-early-year/

he is a part of the family... - NBC

boy, there must be something really special about living in texas that makes it worth the effort to put up with unwashed masses of idiots, teabaggers, conservatives, and whatevers.

- esa

On it's way to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014.

Atlantis blasts off on Monday.

Stephanie Miller is talking
about Palin's new book.
Pretty funny stuff

that photo is amazing!
I love it that u keep us
updated on the universe.

The name Fernando is supposed to mean the wanderer. My imagination does exactly that when contemplating the universe we live in. I don't believe there are enough science hating repugs out there to obfuscate the obvious enlightenment.

principles, the working class, and tried to get health care for those Americans the corporations have thrown out on the street. But helping Americans doesn’t count. Israel uber alles.
============================================

How the Lobby Made Mincemeat of the Obama Administration

America's Dismal Future

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

It did not take the Israel Lobby long to make mincemeat out of the Obama administration’s “no new settlements” position. Israeli prime minister Netanyahu is bragging about Israel’s latest victory over the US government as Israel continues to build illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

In May President Obama read the Israelis the riot act, telling the Israeli government that he was serious about ending the Israeli conflict with the Palestinians and that a lasting peace agreement required the Israeli government to abandon all construction of new settlements in the occupied West Bank.

On November 10 Obama’s White House chief of staff, Rahm Israel Emanuel, surrendered for his boss at the annual conference of the United Jewish Communities. The ongoing Israeli settlements, he said, should not be a “distraction” to a peace agreement.

Allegedly, the US is a superpower and Israel is a client state whose very existence depends entirely on US military and economic aid and diplomatic protection. Yet, in the real world it works the other way. Israel is the superpower and the US is its client state.

This true fact is proved to us at least once every week and sometimes two or three times in one week. A few days ago the US House of Representatives voted 344 to 36 in favor of disavowing the UN report by the distinguished Jewish judge Richard Goldstone that found that Israel had committed war crimes in its attack on the civilian population in the Gaza Ghetto. The Israel Lobby demanded that the House repudiate the fact-filled report, and the servile House did as its master ordered.
http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts11122009.html

Restore protections for wolves

Help protect wolves Sign our petition urging Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to immediately restore federal protections for northern Rockies wolves. Help us reach our goal of 100,000 signatures!

Take Action!

http://action.defenders.org/site/PageServer?pagename=savewolves_takeacti...

As always THANK YOU :)

Terry Gross interviews Mr.Hersh - good listening

Interviews
How Safe Is It? Seymour Hersh On Pakistan's Arsenal

http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13

Four mosques seized in US

The Alavi Foundation has been using rents collected from the building to help fund the centres and other ventures, including sending educational literature to imprisoned Muslims in the US.

The foundation has also invested in dozens of mosques around the country and supported Iranian academics at prominent universities.

It is extremely rare for US law enforcement authorities to seize a house of worship, a move fraught with questions on the constitutional right to freedom of religion.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations in a statement expressed concern over the seizure of the mosques.

'Chilling effect'

"Whatever the details of the government's case against the owners of the mosques, as a civil rights organisation we are concerned that the seizure of American houses of worship could have a chilling effect on the religious freedom of citizens of all faiths and may send a negative message to Muslims worldwide," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the council.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/11/2009111373941901958.h...

Ugh. Hurricane Sarah is going to make teevee impossible for the next month.

Makes me long for saner times...

"Does he have sex appeal? . . . Can you smell the English leather on this guy, the Aqua Velva, the sort of mature man's shaving cream, or whatever, you know, after he shaved? Do you smell that sort of, a little bit of cigar smoke?"

Glad to hear your Mac will be back mb. I just got a macbook yesterday! :)

Still have mah PCs...my new adventure for the year is iPhone app building...so I partnered up with a client of mine bought a Mac, downloaded the SDK and away I goooooooooooooo

(yikes!)

"this machine kills fascists"

I'm having a major problem with mosques not condemning the rampage in Fort Hood.

All of Abraham's children are hateful ugly ass holes. They need to all shut up, grow up, and stop relying on their stupid fake deity worshiping ways. The rest of us are tired of paying for their fuck ups.

Close all the churches. I don't care. They are a scourge on all societies.

SAMMY GOES BRIGHT!
Submitted by edna ellen poe on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 4:09pm.

Also:
Armitage- Part I: The Early Years & the Golden Triangle

As mentioned earlier, Brent Scowcroft will be ending his nine-year reign as chairman of the American Turkish Council (ATC) and will be succeeded by former Bush administration Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage.

Armitage may be best remembered for leaking information to Robert Novak that exposed Valerie Plame as a covert CIA agent in a political scandal that became known as the Plame Affair. Selective amnesia on the part of the servile US mainstream media has repeatedly obscured Armitage’s curriculum vitae, which goes back decades and begins during the Vietnam conflict.

Graduating from the US Naval Academy in 1967, Armitage served four tours of duty in Vietnam before leaving the military in 1973, when he joined the Defense Attache in Saigon. It was at this time that Armitage’s association with the CIA began:

http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/

Tension between Republicans and the nation’s top CEOs over healthcare reform escalated this week when the executives released a report praising aspects of President Barack Obama’s top initiative.

Obama on Thursday seized on the findings, issuing a statement that notes the report found future healthcare costs could fall by $3,000 per employee with passage of the legislation. - TheHill

HOW STUPIDITY BECAME A VIRTUE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE

Goldwag: Cranks, Curiosities, and the Process Church
Guestblogger Arthur Goldwag is the author of "Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies: The Straight Scoop on Freemasons, The Illuminati, Skull and Bones, Black Helicopters, The New World Order, and many, many more" and other books.

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/12/goldwag-cranks-curio.html

"Sixth Sense Technology" Will Be Open Source"

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/12/sixth-sense-technolo.html

"Sixth Sense Technology" from MIT---basically, a visual interface system that allows you and the computer in your cell phone to communicate in some truly astounding ways---was a big hit at TED. This week, at TED India, inventor Pranav Mistry announced that the technology will be released as open source...in a matter of months.

"Rather than waiting for that time to come, I want people to make their own system. Why not?," Mistry says in an article on Rediff Business. "People will be able to make their own hardware. I will give them instructions how to make it. And also provide them key software...give them basic key software layers...they will be able to build their own applications. They will be able to modify base level and do anything".

But check out Royal Copenhagen Musk....uummmmmm

At least Howard Fineman has good hair now...

NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) — Now that drug giant Pfizer Inc. has announced plans to pull out of a Connecticut city where it played a role in an epic eminent domain fight, residents are questioning why the battle was ever waged.

The company said this week it plans to close its research and development site in New London and move about 1,500 jobs to its Groton campus.

New London officials had sought a city parcel for a multimillion-dollar private development that would complement a new Pfizer research facility.

Homeowners fought the move, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against them in 2005 in a decision that gave cities the right to use eminent domain to take property for private development.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8806988

The Courant opposed the land-taking and eviction of Fort Trumbull residents for such a speculative project. Now, however, there's no point in gloating over the barren plots where homes once stood. New London has to move on and fulfill its vision for the site, even if a key partner is getting out.

Pfizer's move, though, points out the great need for regional tax-sharing to help needy cities like New London that have few big taxpayers and more than their fair share of tax-exempt institutions.

Pfizer is closing the New London R&D campus and five others and consolidating operations in Groton as it merges with recently acquired Wyeth. Few could foresee a decade ago, when the company was planning the New London complex, the slowdown in blockbuster drugs and the recession that would force drug companies to shutter labs.

City leaders and the New London Development Corp. also underestimated the Fort Trumbull residents who weren't about to sacrifice their homes for the planned condo, hotel and conference center complex that Pfizer's president had called "integral to our corporate facility."

The homeowners embroiled New London in a court fight that the city ultimately won in a landmark Supreme Court ruling. The point of eminent domain, the court said, is to benefit the public — even if that means taking homes for private development that will bring in more tax revenues.
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-pfizer-new-london.art....

I think this country is more likely to close all public, secular universities, before they close any Christian churches.
I don't want any any churches closed. Even the Dominionist churches that advertise on Fox. I just want their tax exempt status ended. Something that will never happen.

Malloy was talking about the history of the Alavi Foundation last night.

The Alavi Foundation is a private not-for-profit organization based in the United States. In November 2009, federal prosecutors in the United States seized its assets.[1]

The Alavi Foundation is the successor organization to the Pahlavi Foundation, a nonprofit group used by Reza Pahlavi Shah to advance Iran's charitable interests in America. Most of the charities income is from rent collected on the New York Fifth Avenue skyscraper the Piaget Building, which was built in 1978 under the shah of Iran, who was overthrown in 1979.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alavi_Foundation

The Alavi Foundation is the successor organization to the Pahlavi Foundation, a nonprofit group used by the shah to advance Iran's charitable interests in America. But authorities said its agenda changed after the fall of the shah.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/12/feds-move-to-seize-4-mosq_0_n_3...

("...its agenda changed after the fall of the shah." Well, that settles it.)

there needs to be a federal level law that prohibits giving corporations a break on property taxes.

a large amount of the development in southwest ohio is based on that premise. the corporations get a free ride while the taxpayer gets stuck footing the bill for improvements and maintenance.

http://www.nature.com/scibx/journal/v2/n44/full/scibx.2009.1618.html

Yea, in this Pfizer case I've read several comments from Groton (where Pfizer is relocating that project to.)
These commentators are all cheering. Apparently, they can't imagine, after granting Pfizer all manner of concessions, that Pfizer might just pack and move to Columbia tomorrow.

attemting to "steal , "monopolize " aka patent all the local plants that the healer/shamans have shared for centuries

from the NYT:

Water Found on Moon, Scientists Say

There is water on the Moon, scientists stated unequivocally on Friday, and considerable amounts of it.

“Indeed yes, we found water,” Anthony Colaprete, the principal investigator for NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, said in a news conference.

The confirmation of scientists’ suspicions is welcome news both to future explorers who might set up home on the lunar surface and to scientists who hope that the water, in the form of ice accumulated over billions of years, could hold a record of the solar system’s history.

‘Significant amount’ of water found on moon
NASA's LCROSS probe discovered beds of water ice at the lunar south pole
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33912611/ns/technology_and_science-space/

By Andrea Thompson
updated 5 minutes ago

It's official: There's water on the moon.

NASA's LCROSS probe discovered beds of water ice at the lunar south pole when it impacted the moon last month, mission scientists announced Friday.

"Indeed, yes, we found water. And we didn't find just a little bit, we found a significant amount," Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS project scientist and principal investigator from NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif.
~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

Is that what they use to test the princesses?

(Just a further demonstration that I understand the lead-balloon thing.)

I don't know what the big deal is with that news. I've been to La Luna during a rain storm. Of course there's water on the moon.

Fucking moon, billions of years romancing young lovers and single men on grassy hills, she took forever to give it up.

I say we bomb it again. Maybe it's still holding out on us.

I just spoke w/ the BA for local 118
office@iatse118.com
re Business Agent Alex McGibbon

He says your local film industry is shut down for the duration so a lot of IA hands will be available.

However [this is me talking] someone that knows how to tie a bowline and a clove hitch is an asset. Keep your ear out for when the prep for the opening ceremony at the BC Place starts. Might be as late as after Christmas.[?]

The push is to use non union labor, but the open and closing -construction and take out- should, I think, be union. [Overtime, breaks etc.] The company 'Stage co.' sucks. I recommend avoiding them..

"VANOC’s overall budget for all Olympic Ceremonies elements, including victory and welcome ceremonies, is $58.5 million....
The Games Ceremonies are mandated by the International Olympic Committee to promote international peace and understanding, honouring the world’s greatest athletes, and celebrating humanity. The Opening Ceremony will take place in Vancouver’s 60,000-seat BC Place Stadium, on February 12, 2010, and will welcome members of the Olympic Family and guests from around the world. "
http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-news/vancouver-2010-opening-ceremon...

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

even more than ever these days?

Somehow the way he screams is irritating. The way Malloy does usually isn't.

I think somebody on Rachel's old blog (could have been one of y'all) described it as something like a bored junior hs student forced to give a book report to a class of people he thinks are dumb...or something??

At the time I hadn't noticed and had no idea what they were talking about.

Anyhow, glad there's brr. :)

remember the scene from The Right Stuff where Glenn is coming out of orbit with his retrorocket burning off and they intersperse scenes of the aboriginal shaman sitting near fire with the implication that the shaman has probably been to la luna too?

see--not hard. ;)

But I have pictures of it. My godfather was building a damn on the moon just before he died. This ain't no mystery.

There's tequila on the moon too. I put it in the refrigerator myself.

i'll hook up with them. i'll have to re-join.

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Product-Categories/Dosage-forms/DSM-...

Submitted by 60th Street on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 11:20am.
Submitted by mhappenow on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 11:39am.
------

Indeed, along with that smell of English Leather and Aqua Velva, Fred Thompson bares a striking resemblance to the tree in the Haunted Forrest.

A note on recycled Peas

If you choose to recycle your princess test pea, be sure to use the dry variety. Princess pea tests using the fresh or frozen legume have proved unsatisfactory, while tests show the dried peas can be used indefinitely if stored properly after usage.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

of that story (if you can call reinforcing secular dominionism [I guess you could say] with a little bit of compulsory femininity thrown in a "teaching" [which I guess you actually can].)

But it never hurts to spell things out, what with NCLB/BL and all.

Kelly-Anne McDade admitted misconduct in a public office after a love-affair with “dangerous offender” Nelson Delgado. - Independent

Judge Christopher Tyrer told McDade that “Love is not an excuse.”

//Love is not an excuse.//

Everything else is...for just about everything else...at least for the "important people"...but not that.

Heaven forfend!!

Jinx

haunted forest - oh, my!!!

A word that ends with the letter X.

As in..."Oh-oooh, how I miss my X." (In a manner of speaking, that is to say...)

Not to bludgeon or anything.

If you make me call I'm going to have to try to kick your ass for you.

And you know that will just be embarrassing for both of us.

If you don't understand "x," this message is not for you.

Lieberman: Bringing terror suspects to U.S. for trial 'inconceivable' - TheHill

My headlights are working again. Yeah!

It's been a long day and I'm working tonight.

Have an hour of down time til I have to get ready for work.

Missed the news all morning and catching up on the blog.

toniD's Ya Think?

Bauer to bring political edge to White House counsel's office

By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 13, 2009; 1:06 PM

President Obama's new chief counsel is a prominent Democratic lawyer who has spent the past two decades helping his party's top candidates and officials navigate the often conflicting worlds of politics and the law.

As the president's private attorney since the time he served in the U.S. Senate, Robert Bauer is no stranger to Obama's world. And as a veteran of the combative realm of election law, he has earned a reputation as a tough, partisan streetfighter on behalf of his clients.

Bauer's appointment is likely to bring a new, more political edge to the counsel's office at a time when the White House has struggled with some of the country's most highly charged and difficult issues, including the closure of the Guantanamo Bay facility and the vetting of nominees.

The office -- which includes 19 White House lawyers -- had been led by Gregory B. Craig since the beginning of the administration. Craig announced his resignation Friday morning and will depart by Jan. 1.

In a statement released while he was in Japan for an eight-day overseas trip, Obama called Bauer a "trusted counselor" and said he is "well-positioned to lead the Counsel's office as it addresses a wide variety of responsibilities."

Bauer and his wife, Anita Dunn, were offered administration jobs in January but turned them down. Dunn was later tapped as the White House communications director. Bauer had told friends that if they both worked at the White House, their teenage son would never see his parents.

A partner at the Perkins Coie law firm in Washington, Bauer has built its political law practice into perhaps the most powerful in the country. A 1976 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, he is also general counsel to the Democratic National Committee and his firm represents the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

A campaign finance law expert who wrote "United States Federal Election Law" in 1982, Bauer reportedly gets up at 5:30 every morning to tend to his blog, moresoftmoneyhardlaw.com. A source close to him said his iPhone includes a Major League Baseball application to watch games and monitor scores.

Republican operatives reacted swiftly to news of his appointment, issuing a statement that called him a "Hyper-Partisan Election Attorney" and noted his participation in what they called liberal legal disputes over the years.

"Bauer has [a] reputation for pushing the bounds of campaign finance law, contradictory to Obama's articulated principles," the RNC statement said. more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/13/AR200911...

toniD's Ya Think?

"My headlights are working again. Yeah!"

"this machine kills fascists"

sounds like a good choice. now if they could only get rid of that 9 finger rahm we could get some progressive stuff done and stop pretending to be republican lite.

Is your Dash board any smarter?

>>ofa little bit of compulsory femininity thrown in

take me to this "compulsory femininity "
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Obama eyes domestic spending freeze

The Obama administration has alerted domestic agencies to plan for a freeze or even a 5 percent cut in their budgets, part of an election-year push to rein in record deficits that threaten the economy and Democrats' political prospects next fall.

China, the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities, has expressed concern about the size of U.S. deficits. U.S. policymakers worry that alarm over deficits could push foreigners into cutting back on their purchases of Treasury debt. President Barack Obama will visit China as part of his current tour of Asia.

White House budget director Peter Orszag said Friday that it is imperative to start curbing the flow of red ink in coming years so as not to erode the fledgling economic recovery and raise interest rates. But he called it a balancing act and said acting too fast could undercut the recovery.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8807360

We send all the jobs to China ruining our lower-middle class and making China rich. And then, they tell our government to tell our workers and unemployed 'to suck it up.'

It gets worse:

"....the bad results for Democrats — independent voters that were central to Obama's winning coalition last year voted roughly 3 to 1 for GOP gubernatorial candidates in Virginia and New Jersey — appear to have added urgency to the deficit-cutting drive.

Independents, pollsters say, tend to be more concerned about the deficit than other voters and getting them back in the Democratic column is crucial to the party' chances in midterm congressional elections."

Yea, this is winning strategy: Go after the Libertarian, "independent" voters, who are gunna vote for Dobbs or some other nut next round anyway, by kicking your traditional base in the nuts.

>>Love is not an excuse.

Oh, What's love got to do, got to do with it?

What's love but a second hand emotion?

What's love got to do, got to do with it?

Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Ochocinco confirmed the fine, writing on Twitter: "I knew I was fined when I got the letter 4 days ago." He wrote later that he has "no problem paying the 20k fine" and plans to "match the fine and donate it to a good cause."

Ochocinco also asked President Barack Obama for help, asking on Twitter if the two can meet "to set up a fun rule please. I can't go to mcdonalds for 2 weeks now."

Teabaggers to Burn Perriello and Pelosi Effigy, While Diane Watson Caves on Public Option
By: Jane Hamsher Friday November 13, 2009 11:47 am

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2009/11/13/teabaggers-to-burn-perriello...

Per Lowell Feld of Blue Virginia, from the Star-Tribune:

In a move sure to spark controversy, the Danville TEA Party will close their “Fired Up for Freedom” rally by burning Rep. Tom Perriello and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in effigy in response to the passage of landmark healthcare legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The event is being held Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in Blairs, VA at the corner of U.S. 29 and E. Witt Rd. and is open to the public. Danville TEA Party Chairman Nigel Coleman said, “We were outraged to find that Tom Perriello had voted in favor of this bill. I was with dozens of 5th District voters in his office two days before the vote and we pleaded with him to stand with us against the Pelosi plan.”

“At this point we feel we have no representation in Congress. It disturbs me to find out that Perriello literally received a pat on the back from Nancy Pelosi before going to the House floor to vote.” Coleman said, citing unconfirmed reports that Congressman Perriello received handshakes from Democratic House leaders before casting his vote last Saturday.

On the progressive side, Diane Watson — the Progressive Caucus whip who was responsible for whipping members to oppose any bill that didn’t have a public plan (and blew it) — is now caving herself. She sang that old standby, “don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good” to Dave Dayen last night.

It’s comforting to know that while the other side goes berzerk in a psychotic fit of violent rage, our side is going to weenie out.

Here’s Diane Watson’s Facebook page. (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Diane-Watson/7986890571?v=wall&viewas=1000...) And her office: DC: 202-225-7084, LA 323-965-1422

-------

Then we'll burn him Cville for the "opposite" reason (voting yes on Stupidpak).

Chrysler, the recipient of $15.3 billion in taxpayer-funded bailout money -- granted in part because of its promise to invest in electric vehicle technology -- has just announced it is scrapping its plans for producing large volumes of electric cars.

Join us in telling Chrysler this is unacceptable. Pledge not to buy any Chrysler vehicles unless the automaker reinstates its electric vehicle program.

http://action.foe.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1713

Sam Stein

The CEO of one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the country said on Friday that he and others in the industry would switch their support for health care reform to opposition if Congress settles on legislation passed by the House of Representatives.

David Brennan, head of pharma giant AstraZeneca, told the Huffington Post that he was pleased with the White House and the Senate Finance Committee for standing by "the principles which we said are really important." The three parties entered into an agreement, before the health care debate heated up, that saw the pharmaceutical industry committing $80 billion to reform in exchange for various assurances -- the primary one being that the government would not use its purchasing power to negotiate cheaper prescription drug prices.

The House, however, hasn't played by those rules. And in an appearance at Bloomberg News's Washington Summitt, Brennan warned that the industry's ample resources could be turned against the broader reform effort if Speaker Nancy Pelosi's legislation were to emerge from the Congress.

"Right now the answer to that is yes," Brennan said, when asked if the support would change to opposition. "We said there were principles we didn't want to see violated. And if those principles -- price controls, Medicare rebates, moving dual eligibles back from Medicare and back into the Medicaid discount program -- if those things happen, I can't see how we could be supportive of the program."

Asked after the conference by the Huffington Post what kind of opposition he was discussing, Brennan refused to reveal his cards.

"We said we are not in favor of the House bill but we haven't seen what they are going to try to reconcile," he said. "We are going to do what we are going to do. Right now we are in support [of the process] because there are certain things we are trying to get into the system which we think make it a better outcome."

Part of that "better outcome" entails the potential for major profits for the pharmaceutical industry. According to an analysis put together by the pharmaceutical research firm, IMS, the industry stands to gain an estimated $137 billion from an improved economy, new market innovations, as well as the deal struck by with the White House and Senate Finance Committee.

And yet, when Brennan was asked whether Big Pharma stood to make profits going forward, he said no.

"Until we really see the elements of a health care bill come through... it is difficult to project," he said. "But right now it is not obvious to me that there is an upside to this."

Asked to reconcile his dour outlook with the IMS data, Brennan replied: "I talk to the IMS. They, I think, have gone from projecting the market would be flat to roughly two or three percent. I think you have to go back and look at their record of prospectively being able to project that out. And right now the market is softer than we probably expected it to be a few years ago."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/13/pharma-ceo-we-will-fight_n_3567...

toniD's Ya Think?

what good is winning an election if you don't do anything to make life better for the people that voted for you. obama's downfall will be his pandering to the republicans thinking that he is doing good for the country.

Do you really want me imagining you in a micro-mini--and with that hair? ;)

Va. Rep. Tom Perriello, On Health Care Vote: 'He Didn't Come To Congress To Get Re-Elected' [UPDATE]

OH NOES! What is Representative Tom Perriello (D-Va.) doing, allowing his spokesperson to say stuff like this, in the wake of his vote for the House health care reform bill:

Perriello spokeswoman Jessica Barba said Perriello met with and respected those who oppose the health care bill but ultimately made the decision he deemed best for his district. Perriello's 5th District stretches from Charlottesville to Danville.

"A lot of the political pundits and all the conventional wisdom is saying that this is going to cost him the election next year," she said. "He didn't come to Congress to get re-elected."

Perriello won his seat in the House after defeating the incumbent Republican Virgil Goode by a razor-thin, 727-vote margin. He's generally seen as one of the most -- if not the most -- vulnerable Democratic incumbents. Sam Stein reported on Monday that the National Republican Congressional Committee immediately went to work on Perriello, sending out 16 separate emails about his vote for the health care bill, the first of which came with the subject heading, "BREAKING: The end of Tom Perriello's political career." And his spokesperson's comment came amid an AstroTurf outpouring of protest from Americans for Prosperity.

It's almost as if Perriello has "convictions" that are more important to him than doing whatever he can to preserve his Congressional career. Inside the Beltway, this behavior is generally regarded as insane. If Perriello was a fighter pilot, he'd be grounded, according to Catch-22.

UPDATE: Apparently believing that it is a sufficient substitute for cogent political thought or maturity, the Danville TEA Party will "will close their "Fired Up for Freedom" rally by burning Rep. Tom Perriello and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in effigy in response to the passage of landmark healthcare legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

That's all going down this Saturday at 5:30pm in Blairs, VA, and will obviously solve our health care problems forever.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/13/va-rep-tom-perriello-on-h_n_356...

toniD's Ya Think?

OK...We could go that taffy-pull route...For bipartisanship and all.

JK. His dad was/is too nice.

“don’t let the people be an enemy of the greed”

:D

(Even though there was no byline. Tsk tsk.)

:) :) :)

(Please don't hurt me Bionic Woman....)

Patrick Kennedy clashes with outspoken RI bishop

(Providence, RI) Thomas Tobin, the Roman Catholic bishop of Providence, has made a career out of putting politicians in his crosshairs, but his latest battle over abortion threatens to spiritually exile Rep. Patrick Kennedy, a son of the nation’s most famous Roman Catholic family.

Their feud over a proposal expanding the nation’s health insurance system has escalated to the point where Tobin has publicly questioned Kennedy’s faith and membership in the church and said he should not receive communion, the central sacrament in Catholic worship.

It’s an uncomfortable tangle of faith and politics for a congressman whose uncle John F. Kennedy was elected the first Roman Catholic president in 1960 after declaring to wary Protestants that he did not speak for his church on public matters, and that the church did not speak for him.

“I don’t think there’s any winner here,” said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a church observer and senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. “I think this is the kind of thing that would be better discussed between a member of Congress and his bishop behind closed doors.”

http://www.365gay.com/news/patrick-kennedy-clashes-with-outspoken-ri-bis...

One of the comments at DU:

hobbit709:
So Tobin is issuing Fatwas?

toniD's Ya Think?

"I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference; and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him."

toniD's Ya Think?

Is not missing anymore.

Evangelist Tony Alamo Sentenced

Source: KTBS

TEXARKANA -- Evangelist Tony Alamo was sentenced today to the maximum 175 years in prison for taking underage girl in his church across state lines for sex.

The sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Harry Barnes is tantamount to a life prison term. Alamo, 75, would have to serve approximately 85 percent of his term before becoming eligible for release from prison.

http://www.ktbs.com/news/alamo-gets-maximum-175-year-sentence

toniD's Ya Think?

"this machine kills fascists"

Trade Deficit in U.S. Increases by Most Since 1999

Source: Bloomberg

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The trade deficit in the U.S. widened in September by the most in a decade, reflecting rising demand for imported oil and automobiles as the economy rebounded from the worst recession since the 1930s.

The gap grew a larger-than-anticipated 18 percent to $36.5 billion, the highest level since January, from a revised $30.8 billion in August, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Imports surged by the most in 16 years, swamping a gain in exports. (Because we have Free Trade instead of Fair Trade!)

...

Asia is “leading the world” back to recovery, Geithner told reporters at a joint press briefing with his APEC counterparts. President Barack Obama began a swing through Asia today as world leaders work toward a rebalancing that will make global growth more reliant on spending by Asian consumers and businesses and less dependent on their American counterparts.

...

The U.S. is growing again after posting its worst contraction in seven decades. The world’s largest economy expanded at a 3.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the best performance in two years. Economists surveyed last month forecast a 3 percent rate of growth this quarter.

http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aN1mKmvVAZp4&pos=1

toniD's Ya Think?

>>Do you really want me imagining you in a micro-mini--and with that hair? ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I69J_AlfCu0
*************************

if you don't, I will! (as long as that `bears' -fella isn't around)

Like Mavis said...

(Don't mind me. I'm just going a little crazy being back today.)

(Not that I deserve it.)

Huge rise in birth defects in Falluja

Iraqi former battle zone sees abnormal clusters of infant tumours and deformities

Doctors in Iraq's war-ravaged enclave of Falluja are dealing with up to 15 times as many chronic deformities in infants and a spike in early life cancers that may be linked to toxic materials left over from the fighting.

The extraordinary rise in birth defects has crystallised over recent months as specialists working in Falluja's over-stretched health system have started compiling detailed clinical records of all babies born.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/13/falluja-cancer-children-birt...

.....Well, looking at Yugoslavia, perhaps it's the liberal tendency to believe Democrats wouldn't really fabricate a crisis, or create one, or distort all the information about one. They tend to think a Democrat wouldn't drop tons of Depleted Uranium (DU) tipped ordnance on a country unless there was a darn good reason for it -- a reason of humanitarian resonance. The bombing of Belgrade, under Bill Clinton, and carried out by Supreme Allied Commander Wesley Clark, is still widely seen as the way, the only way, to stop the genocide orchestrated by crazed Serbian killers. Now, I suppose it's time to look more closely at this word "genocide." The propaganda mill that Washington drives non-stop has created over the last twenty-some years a sort of index of buzzwords that it trots out, with appropriate visual reinforcement, to convince the liberal left (it doesn't have to convince the right) that sending in the Marines is actually a noble and compassionate act. Genocide is at the top of this buzzword list......
http://www.swans.com/library/art10/johns03.html

tanks James!
new
Submitted by Sunshine Jim on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 2:14pm.

i'll hook up with them. i'll have to re-join.
==
Unless it is different there, you don't need to be a member for a temp hire like this. They will take out their 3% or 4% for the local of course.

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

>>(Don't mind me. I'm just going a little crazy being back today.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe500eIK1oA
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Jim, won't working interfere with your turn on the Olympic torch relay?
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

My secret Ouija board just told me that Sam is being considered to fill Lou Dobb's old spot!

Let's get an email campaign started to push him over the top!
*************************

this sort of thing never fails...

The cats?

No, I guess one of the cats would have to know, or who would hold the other side of the...whatchamacall.

It is secret because no one can see it but me!

and it is magical . too!

It can talk and fly and all sorts of other things. but I can't really talk about it because it is secret.
*************************

Mums the word,eh?

the numbered uniforms are scary.

they put me in the back row with the bic lighter contingent.

i was'nt a squeeky clean shiny smile youther.

we all shared a joint as soon as the press left.

actually, all my imaginary friends can see the secret Ouija board. In fact, it belongs to one of them... the secret Ouija is his intellectual property, so you can understand why I can't discuss it.
*************************

I am borrowing the secret Ouija

Ouija - Board
by Rolf-Dietmar Ehrhardt

The following information and the pictures in the first part of the article below have been taken from http://www.witchboards.net. The second part of the article is written by Rolf-Dietmar Ehrhardt based on his personal experiences with a Ouija board, which were positive and profound. Remember, starting off with spirit communication can be helpful or harmful, depending mostly on our state of mind. Please refer to "Avoiding the unpleasant."

The name "ouija" comes from the French and German words for yes, "oui" and "ja." There are many different types of Ouija Boards, which can have differing layouts and can be made from a variety of materials. The board usually consists of the letters of the alphabet, 0-9 in numbers and the words, "Yes" and "No." The user or users of the board lightly touch a pointer (sometimes called a planchette) and the pointer moves and spells out the answers to questions asked of the ouija. Usually this pointer is mounted on castors to help it move freely about the board.

February 10th, 1891 marked a great day in history. The first Ouija board was patented by Charles Kennard. It is pretty much unknown who actually invented the Ouija board...but if I had to place my guess on it, it would be Elijah Bond. This is because his name is listed on the original patent documents under the title of 'Inventor". If Ouija boards were invented by someone else, such as Charles Kennard or William Fuld, why would they allow Elijah Bond to put his name on there like that? Still...the answer lies unknown...

http://www.worlditc.org/k_06_ouija.htm

----
It lies unknown.

But if you believe some person who says things like "lies unknown," you can finger the planchette Prejean style. No need for cat, silk-tongued or otherwise.

Our 1st debate.

PASTOR RICK WARREN, SADDLEBACK CHURCH: Welcome to the Saddleback Civil Forum
...We believe in the separation of church and state, but we do not believe in the separation of faith and politics, because faith is just a world view, and everybody has some kind of world view. It’s important to know what they are.

OBAMA: As a starting point, it means I believe in — that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and that I am redeemed through him. That is a source of strength and sustenance on a daily basis. Yes, I know that I don’t walk alone. And I know that if I can get myself out of the way, that I can maybe carry out in some small way what he intends. And it means that those sins that I have on a fairly regular basis, hopefully will be washed away.
http://www.clipsandcomment.com/2008/08/17/full-transcript-saddleback-pre...

GOPer: New WH Counsel Brought In To Protect...ACORN!

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) is attacking the appointment of Bob Bauer as the new White House Counsel -- saying that it's all a plot to protect ACORN. White House counsel Greg Craig is leaving and being replaced by longtime D.C. lawyer Bob Bauer. "Bob has served as a trusted counselor for many years to many elected officials and is known as a tough and widely respected advocate," Obama said.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/11/rep-king-new-white-houe-couns...

toniD's Ya Think?

XX

----
Alright dammit. I'll be waiting for you after school...

B-cup.

--------

Actin' all Cuban.

>>There are many different types of Ouija Boards, which can have differing layouts and can be made from a variety of materials. The board usually consists of the letters of the alphabet, 0-9 in numbers and the words, "Yes" and "No." The user or users of the board lightly touch a pointer (sometimes called a planchette) and the pointer moves and spells out the answers to questions asked of the ouija. Usually this pointer is mounted on castors to help it move freely about the board.

>>this secret Ouija has graphics of Sam and Janeanne replacing the `yes' and the `no'. Instead of letters and numbers it has the names of media conglomerations etc.

when the pointer went from CNN to Seder, the message was clear.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

"Chrysler, the recipient of $15.3 billion in taxpayer-funded bailout money -- granted in part because of its promise to invest in electric vehicle technology -- has just announced it is scrapping its plans for producing large volumes of electric cars."

Noodles Jefferson disagrees...with all dew respect because it's always foggy around heah.

Chrysler makes extremely shitty cars. They are classic pieces of shit vehicles that don't weather well and just flat out suck.

On top of all that....they suck!

Why bother having a company that makes shitty cars that suck, make shitty electric cars that suck?

Save the landfills! Save the Earth! Save Block Island!

Just say no to Chrysler cars. They suck!

It sucked.

Anita Dunn Takes Parting Shot At Fox, Hannity And Beck
Sam Stein

In a parting shot at Fox News, White House Communications Director Anita Dunn mocked the conservative-leaning network on Friday and laughed off its controversial host Glenn Beck for calling her a Mao enthusiast.

The outgoing administration spokeswoman took a clear and enjoyable dig, first at Sean Hannity for recently airing spliced footage designed to make a crowd of anti-health care protesters seem bigger than reality.

"A fun fact from this week is that an opinion show on a certain news network was using edited footage to make it appear that a rally last week, and political opposition to the president, was much larger than it appeared," said Dunn, during her appearance at the Bloomberg News Washington Summit. "Some of you may have heard about it. The people who went in and did fact checking on that, and actually exposed the spliced edited was... Jon Stewart of the 'Daily Show' on Comedy Central. Well that is where you are getting fact-checking and investigative journalism these days folks. It is a different media environment."

Showing an even greater appreciation for the "Daily Show"'s Fox News fact-checking abilities, Dunn referenced another Stewart triumph later in her question-and-answer session.

"Jon Stewart actually did one of the most amazing pieces of journalism last week or a couple of weeks ago," she said, "in which he looked at the way Fox, on their opinion shows, raises some issue that then gets reported on by their news division as 'a controversy.' ... Now, that's a point of view. That's fine. That's entertainment. It helps their ratings. But I think if you go downstairs and walk through the Newseum that's not traditionally what you think of as traditional news -- to some extent inventing the story."

Approached in the halls outside the forum, the Huffington Post asked Dunn to put Glenn Beck's recent theatrics into the context of her critiques of Fox News's coverage. She chuckled. For the past few weeks, Beck has insisted that the outgoing communications director considers Mao Zedong a political hero and has put a red telephone on his set begging for her to call and explain her political dispositions.

"I think it was news to everybody who knows me," she replied. "You know, most media consultants usually are accused of other things, but that's not one of them."

Last month, Dunn got caught up in a war of words between the White House and Fox News when she made the rather bland observation that the network carries a Republican agenda. On Friday, she was asked whether she considered MSNBC to have a counter-balancing bias -- a common retort offered by Fox's defenders. Dunn replied by noting that for three hours every morning that network handed over its programming to "a former Republican congressman who was a member of Newt Gingrich's revolution": Joe Scarborough.

Elsewhere in her remarks, Dunn acknowledged that her decision to go after Fox News was not an example of her "going rogue." White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and perhaps even the president himself gave her the green light. She also mocked Fox for proclaiming that it had secured an exclusive sit-down interview with President Obama during his trip to Asia when, in actuality, it was simply part of a rotating pool of reporters.

"We have on past foreign trips done what are called round-robins where there are short interviews with all of the networks that travel with us," she said. "We have not made a decision network on whether or not we are going to do those. There are no confirmed television interviews in china. And if, oh, some network sent out a press release announcing that was going to happen you'd have to ask about that network and whether or not they really had their facts confirmed before they leaked that."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/13/dunn-takes-parting-shot-a_n_357...

toniD's Ya Think?

Don't forget Moyers is on tonight.

Have a great evening.

Later

toniD's Ya Think?

it's good to know a few buds in the car world.

2 almost new snow tires and 2 aluminum rims $90 US.

Republi-spam. No longer are they 'talking points.'
Call them what they are - spammers.

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission head Jose Cuevas found himself in the limelight last week when The Dallas Morning News reported he had solicited political contributions from restaurateurs--part of the community he regulates--for his boss, Gov. Rick Perry.

http://www.followthemoney.org/press/ReportView.phtml?r=405&PHPSESSID=30b...

Former Miss California Carrie Prejean made 7 other sex tapes, dozens of nude pics - report

By Soraya Roberts
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Friday, November 13th 2009, 5:28 PM

==
1."biggest mistake"
2."bigerest mistake"
3.-8. well you get the idea

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

: then give us our money back, Chrysler.

"Join us in telling Chrysler this is unacceptable."
Submitted by Noodles Jefferson on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 4:56pm.
"Chrysler, the recipient of $15.3 billion in taxpayer-funded bailout money -- granted in part because of its promise to invest in electric vehicle technology -- has just announced it is scrapping its plans for producing large volumes of electric cars."

>>then give us our money back, Chrysler.

and if they don't, sieze the company and make the Republicans run it.

That way they can prove they can run a business so we can tell how seriously they can take that `let's run the government like a business stuff.'

also, since they'll be in charge of paying the money back, they'll know all that is standing in the way to returning the company to private hands will be themselves.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

PALIN'S LIES DOCUMENTED... Again:

FACT CHECK: Palin's book goes rogue on some facts

By CALVIN WOODWARD, Associated Press Writer Calvin Woodward, Associated Press Writer 24 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Sarah Palin's new book reprises familiar claims from the 2008 presidential campaign that haven't become any truer over time.

Ignoring substantial parts of her record if not the facts, she depicts herself as a frugal traveler on the taxpayer's dime, a reformer without ties to powerful interests and a politician roguishly indifferent to high ambition.

Palin goes adrift, at times, on more contemporary issues, too. She criticizes President Barack Obama for pushing through a bailout package that actually was achieved by his Republican predecessor George W. Bush — a package she seemed to support at the time.

A look at some of her statements in "Going Rogue," obtained by The Associated Press in advance of its release Tuesday:

PALIN: Says she made frugality a point when traveling on state business as Alaska governor, asking "only" for reasonably priced rooms and not "often" going for the "high-end, robe-and-slippers" hotels.

THE FACTS: Although travel records indicate she usually opted for less-pricey hotels while governor, Palin and daughter Bristol stayed five days and four nights at the $707.29-per-night Essex House luxury hotel (robes and slippers come standard) overlooking New York City's Central Park for a five-hour women's leadership conference in October 2007. With air fare, the cost to Alaska was well over $3,000. Event organizers said Palin asked if she could bring her daughter. The governor billed her state more than $20,000 for her children's travel, including to events where they had not been invited, and in some cases later amended expense reports to specify that they had been on official business.

PALIN: Boasts that she ran her campaign for governor on small donations, mostly from first-time givers, and turned back large checks from big donors if her campaign perceived a conflict of interest.

THE FACTS: Of the roughly $1.3 million she raised for her primary and general election campaigns for governor, more than half came from people and political action committees giving at least $500, according to an AP analysis of her campaign finance reports. The maximum that individual donors could give was $1,000; $2,000 for a PAC.

Of the rest, about $76,000 came from Republican Party committees.

She accepted $1,000 each from a state senator and his wife in the weeks after the two Republican lawmakers' offices were raided by the FBI as part of an investigation into a powerful Alaska oilfield services company. After AP reported those donations during the presidential campaign, she said she would give a comparative sum to charity after the general election in 2010, a date set by state election laws.

PALIN: Rails against taxpayer-financed bailouts, which she attributes to Obama. She recounts telling daughter Bristol that to succeed in business, "you'll have to be brave enough to fail."

THE FACTS: Palin is blurring the lines between Obama's stimulus plan — a $787 billion package of tax cuts, state aid, social programs and government contracts — and the federal bailout that Republican presidential candidate John McCain voted for and President George W. Bush signed.

Palin's views on bailouts appeared to evolve as McCain's vice presidential running mate. In September 2008, she said "taxpayers cannot be looked to as the bailout, as the solution, to the problems on Wall Street." A week later, she said "ultimately what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy."

During the vice presidential debate in October, Palin praised McCain for being "instrumental in bringing folks together" to pass the $700 billion bailout. After that, she said "it is a time of crisis and government did have to step in."

PALIN: Says Ronald Reagan faced an even worse recession than the one that appears to be ending now, and "showed us how to get out of one. If you want real job growth, cut capital gains taxes and slay the death tax once and for all."

THE FACTS: The estate tax, which some call the death tax, was not repealed under Reagan and capital gains taxes are lower now than when Reagan was president.

Economists overwhelmingly say the current recession is far worse. The recession Reagan faced lasted for 16 months; this one is in its 23rd month. The recession of the early 1980s did not have a financial meltdown. Unemployment peaked at 10.8 percent, worse than the October 2009 high of 10.2 percent, but the jobless rate is still expected to climb.

PALIN: She says her team overseeing the development of a natural gas pipeline set up an open, competitive bidding process that allowed any company to compete for the right to build a 1,715-mile pipeline to bring natural gas from Alaska to the Lower 48.

THE FACTS: Palin characterized the pipeline deal the same way before an AP investigation found her team crafted terms that favored only a few independent pipeline companies and ultimately benefited a company with ties to her administration, TransCanada Corp. Despite promises and legal guidance not to talk directly with potential bidders during the process, Palin had meetings or phone calls with nearly every major candidate, including TransCanada.

PALIN: Criticizes an aide to her predecessor, Gov. Frank Murkowski, for a conflict of interest because the aide represented the state in negotiations over a gas pipeline and then left to work as a handsomely paid lobbyist for ExxonMobil. Palin asserts her administration ended all such arrangements, shoving a wedge in the revolving door between special interests and the state capital.

THE FACTS: Palin ignores her own "revolving door" issue in office; the leader of her own pipeline team was a former lobbyist for a subsidiary of TransCanada, the company that ended up winning the rights to build the pipeline.

PALIN: Writes about a city councilman in Wasilla, Alaska, who owned a garbage truck company and tried to push through an ordinance requiring residents of new subdivisions to pay for trash removal instead of taking it to the dump for free — this to illustrate conflicts of interest she stood against as a public servant.

THE FACTS: As Wasilla mayor, Palin pressed for a special zoning exception so she could sell her family's $327,000 house, then did not keep a promise to remove a potential fire hazard on the property.

She asked the city council to loosen rules for snow machine races when she and her husband owned a snow machine store, and cast a tie-breaking vote to exempt taxes on aircraft when her father-in-law owned one. But she stepped away from the table in 1997 when the council considered a grant for the Iron Dog snow machine race in which her husband competes.

PALIN: Says Obama has admitted that the climate change policy he seeks will cause people's electricity bills to "skyrocket."

THE FACTS: She correctly quotes a comment attributed to Obama in January 2008, when he told San Francisco Chronicle editors that under his cap-and-trade climate proposal, "electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket" as utilities are forced to retrofit coal burning power plants to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Obama has argued since then that climate legislation can blunt the cost to consumers. Democratic legislation now before Congress calls for a variety of measures aimed at mitigating consumer costs. Several studies predict average household costs probably would be $100 to $145 a year.

PALIN: Welcomes last year's Supreme Court decision deciding punitive damages for victims of the nation's largest oil spill tragedy, the Exxon Valdez disaster, stating it had taken 20 years to achieve victory. As governor, she says, she'd had the state argue in favor of the victims, and she says the court's ruling went "in favor of the people." Finally, she writes, Alaskans could recover some of their losses.

THE FACTS: That response is at odds with her reaction at the time to the ruling, which resolved the long-running case by reducing punitive damages for victims to $500 million from $2.5 billion. Environmentalists and plaintiffs' lawyers decried the ruling as a slap at the victims and Palin herself said she was "extremely disappointed." She said the justices had gutted a jury decision favoring higher damage awards, the Anchorage Daily News reported. "It's tragic that so many Alaska fishermen and their families have had their lives put on hold waiting for this decision," she said, noting many had died "while waiting for justice."

PALIN: Describing her resistance to federal stimulus money, Palin describes Alaska as a practical, libertarian haven of independent Americans who don't want "help" from government busybodies.

THE FACTS: Alaska is also one of the states most dependent on federal subsidies, receiving much more assistance from Washington than it pays in federal taxes. A study for the nonpartisan Tax Foundation found that in 2005, the state received $1.84 for every dollar it sent to Washington.

PALIN: Says she tried to talk about national security and energy independence in her interview with Vogue magazine but the interviewer wanted her to pivot from hydropower to high fashion.

THE FACTS are somewhat in dispute. Vogue contributing editor Rebecca Johnson said Palin did not go on about hydropower. "She just kept talking about drilling for oil."

PALIN: "Was it ambition? I didn't think so. Ambition drives; purpose beckons." Throughout the book, Palin cites altruistic reasons for running for office, and for leaving early as Alaska governor.

THE FACTS: Few politicians own up to wanting high office for the power and prestige of it, and in this respect, Palin fits the conventional mold. But "Going Rogue" has all the characteristics of a pre-campaign manifesto, the requisite autobiography of the future candidate.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_palin_book_fact_check;_ylt=A0wNdPzWB_5KPi8...

~ ~ ~

FACT CHECK: Palin's book goes rogue on some facts
Submitted by Harbinger on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 9:38pm.

...it wouldn't even amount to a one-page flyer

Boy doesn't know how updating works...which is just too triflin' dumb for it to also be...chingando.

But then there's that double-reverse psych thing again.

Like I said. Too much like math, so...

Shine on, you dumb and/or crazy diamond...

Update: Still no X. If anyone's keeping score. Or even if they're not. "Irregardless." Irremediablemente, like my girl said.

------
Note: If you change something, say, eight,ten hours after you wrote it, when ten zillion people have already posted between your first post and your edit...it's gonna jump into the sidebar again and give your triflin' dumb ass away.

But you already knew that didn't you? Or did you? Imma go lay down now. (And I meant lay, not lie. What'd you think?)

-----

NoLogo. No logos. La palabra no entra. No, as it were, brand. Pity.

Party.

MSNBC Reporter Pushed Out In '03 For Criticizing War Coverage Hired By ABC

Ashleigh Banfield Joining ABC News: TVNewser

Huffington Post | Danny Shea | 11-13-09

Ashleigh Banfield will be joining ABC News next year, TVNewser reported Friday.

Banfield rose to prominence on MSNBC during the early 2000s, but was cast aside after speaking out against the coverage of the Iraq War. She has been an anchor on Court TV/truTV since 2005, but Friday is her last day with the network.

ABC News did not confirm the report, telling TVNewser simply, "We like Ashleigh Banfield and admire her work."

Banfield's breakup with NBC News, where she was a rising star war correspondent and primetime anchor on MSNBC, was bitter. After a speech in which she was seen as criticizing NBC's coverage of the war, she was publicly rebuked by NBC News executives and ostracized at the office, as she explained to a Connecticut magazine earlier this year:

"I was office-less for ten months....No phone, no computer. For ten months I had to report to work every day and ask where I could sit. If somebody was away I could use their desk. Eventually, after ten months of this, I was given an office that was a tape closet. They cleared the tapes out and put a desk and a TV in there, and a computer and phone. It was pretty blatant. The message was crystal clear. Yet they wouldn't let me leave. I begged for seventeen months to be let out of my contract. If they had no use for me, let's just part ways amicably -- no need for payouts, just a clean break. And Neal wouldn't allow it. I don't know what his rationale was -- perhaps he thought I would take what I felt was a very strong brand, and others felt was a very strong brand, to another network and make a success of it. Maybe that's why he chose to keep me in a warehouse. I will never forgive him for his cruelty and the manner in which he decided to dispose of me."

In her controversial speech, delivered at Kansas State in April 2003, Banfield argued that the coverage of the Iraq War left out much of the harsh realities of war and was more "coverage" than "journalism":

What didn't you see? You didn't see where those bullets landed. You didn't see what happened when the mortar landed. A puff of smoke is not what a mortar looks like when it explodes, believe me. There are horrors that were completely left out of this war. So was this journalism or was this coverage-? There is a grand difference between journalism and coverage, and getting access does not mean you're getting the story, it just means you're getting one more arm or leg of the story. And that's what we got, and it was a glorious, wonderful picture that had a lot of people watching and a lot of advertisers excited about cable news. But it wasn't journalism, because I'm not so sure that we in America are hesitant to do this again, to fight another war, because it looked like a glorious and courageous and so successful terrific endeavor, and we got rid oaf horrible leader: We got rid of a dictator, we got rid of a monster, but we didn't see what it took to do that.

She also spoke about the "Fox News effect":

There is another whole phenomenon that's come about from this war. Many talk about it as the Fox effect, the Fox news effect. I know everyone of you has watched it. It's not a dirty little secret. A lot of people describe Fox as having streamers and banners coming out of the television as you're watching it cover a war. But the Fox effect is very concerning to me.

I'm a journalist and I like to be able to tell the story as I see it, and I hate it when someone tells me I'm one-sided. It's the worst I can hear. Fox has taken so many viewers away from CNN and MSNBC because of their agenda and because of their targeting the market of cable news viewership, that I'm afraid there's not a really big place in cable for news. Cable is for entertainment, as it's turning out, but not news.

I'm hoping that I will have a future in news in cable, but not the way some cable news operators wrap themselves in the American flag and patriotism and go after a certain target demographic, which is very lucrative. You can already see the effects, you can already see the big hires on other networks, right wing hires to chase after this effect, and you can already see that flag waving in the corners of those cable news stations where they have exciting American music to go along with their war coverage.

Read her whole lecture here <- LINK

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/13/ashleigh-banfield-joining_n_357...

are her.

Therefore, Ipso facto... ;)

Which is just poxy-speak for "It's a fact!"

I know, not really...(Yawn...)

good for her...we need all the reporters with integrity we can get...

Here is the speech that got her canned...judge for yourselves....

Langdon Lectures

/

I still do.

Submitted by gloryoski on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 10:47pm
Submitted by gloryoski on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 10:43pm

Are you ok gloryoski?

I hope you aren't sampling the pharmaceuticals too much tonight.

Remember that we care about the well being of all our far out characters on this blogship.

Love and Peace to all!

meds rock.

...

----
Frist! ;)

I hear ya'. I'm fucking off.

Palin who?

you mean that insufferable bullshit artist from AK?

ACK! (excuse me while i barf)

malloy is gonna bust a gut or have
a god damn heart attack -

PALIN'S LIES DOCUMENTED... Again:

FACT CHECK: Palin's book goes rogue on some facts

Ashleigh Banfield will be joining ABC News next year, TVNewser reported Friday.
"She also spoke about the "Fox News effect":
http://www.samsedershow.com/node/5479#comment-381321

...ABC is not much different, IMHO.

Police: Drunk man survives being run over by train - AP

Fri Nov 13, 4:13 pm ET

FOND DU LAC, Wis. – Police said a highly intoxicated man who survived when multiple freight train cars rolled over him is "the luckiest guy alive." Police Major Kevin Lemke said Canadian National Railway employees reported they ran over someone lying between the tracks and did an emergency stop about 10:30 p.m. Thursday.

Officers found a 42-year-old local man in some bushes 20 feet away from the tracks. The man indicated he was walking when he saw the train and jumped out of the way.

But Lemke said he tends to believe the employees over an intoxicated man. The man had no serious injuries and received a trespassing citation.

Canadian National spokesman Patrick Waldron said such an incident usually results in serious or fatal injury.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091113/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_train_track_survi...

Tanker Truck overturns, spilling whiskey on Ky. road - AP

Fri Nov 13, 3:08 pm ET

GEORGETOWN, Ky. – It was a "bottoms up" of a different variety. Authorities in Scott County said a tanker truck carrying Canadian Club whiskey overturned Wednesday on U.S. 460 as it was being driven to the Jim Beam distillery in Frankfort. No other vehicles were involved and Scott County Emergency Management Agency director Jack Donovan told the Lexington Herald-Leader the truck driver wasn't hurt.

The road was closed while the flammable load was retrieved and the truck uprighted.

Donovan said the tanker was leaking in two places, but it wasn't clear how much of the 7,000-gallon cargo spilled.

___

Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com

Going Rouge: The Sarah Palin Rogue Coloring & Activity Book
http://www.goingrouge.net/

Bonus: You can help them make pretty, shiny things, too!

...a lonely lonely night at the ol' KOA...

"this machine kills fascists"

>>Someone on your X-mas list wants "that Palin book"?

gives new meaning to `gag' gift?
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

weird weather here lately. we had hailstorms, rain and lightning today.

lightning in lower mainland BC in November? seems unusual to me and Bgurl.

Where the Puck is everyone ? ;)

Dwight Yoakam - A Thousand Miles From Nowhere

http://hypem.com/#/track/955232/Dwight+Yoakam-A+Thousand+Miles+From+Nowh...

**

Les McCann & Eddie Harris - Compared To What

http://hypem.com/#/track/955617/Les+McCann+Eddie+Harris+-+Compared+To+Wh...

**

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

MMRules

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

MMRules

Carrie Prejean is in the news again. She’s the beauty pageant contestant who spoke out against gay marriage. She’s a very family-values-oriented woman who, in her spare time, made a pornographic video tape. She says it is not a sex tape because she’s the only one in it. It’s s solo sex tape. It’s the first female solo sex tape . . . she flies solo. She’s like the Amelia Earhart of the naked. She's trying to downplay the incident.
In pageant terms, it was a swim-suit competition minus the swim suit but with a lot of baton twirling."

–Jimmy Kimmel

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

MMRules

America attacked as George W. Bush and Dick Cheney dithered (video)

While the administration of former President George W. Bush and his erstwhile partner former Vice-President Dick Cheney dithered about with two foreign wars, America was under attack. Sunday, on CBS' 60 Minutes, reporter Steve Kroft interviewed Project Director for the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency, Jim Lewis regarding the attacks.

"In 2007 we probably had our electronic Pearl Harbor. It was an espionage Pearl Harbor," Lewis said. "Some unknown foreign power, and honestly, we don't know who it is, broke into the Department of Defense, to the Department of State, the Department of Commerce, probably the Department of Energy, probably NASA. They broke into all of the high tech agencies, all of the military agencies, and downloaded terabytes of information."

In December 2008, another devastating attack took place.

"This was the CENTCOM network," Lewis explained. "The command that's fighting our two wars. And some foreign power was able to get into their networks. And sit there and see everything they did. That was a major problem. And that's really had a big effect on D.O.D."

When Steve Kroft noted that most Americans don't know this is happening, Mr. Lewis had this to say.

"You know, I've been trying to figure out why that is. And some of it is the previous administration didn't want to admit that they had been rolled in 2007. There's a disincentive to tell people, 'Hey, things are going badly.' But it doesn't seem to be sinking in. And some of us call it 'the death of a thousand cuts.' Every day a little bit more of our intellectual property, our innovative skills, our military technology is stolen by somebody. And it's like little drops. Eventually we'll drown. But every day we don't notice,"

Is it any wonder former Vice-President Cheney has been engaging in a relentless campaign of misdirection and misinformation regarding national security? While Bush and Cheney neglected the situation in Afghanistan and desperately attempted to clean up the mess they created in Iraq, America's enemies were busy stealing massive amounts of data and possibly leaving behind embedded programs designed to cripple America's infrastructure. To be fair, the commission headed by Jim Lewis was established during the Bush administration after the 2007 attacks. However, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney did too little too late to prevent yet another attack on America.

How many times does America have to be shown the destructive ineptitude of fear-mongering ideologues before we wake up and support the soft-spoken voices of reason?

Video at link:

http://www.examiner.com/x-12278-Louisville-Independent-Examiner~y2009m11...

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

MMRules

"The other day in Wisconsin, Sarah Palin gave a speech, and the crowd was searched to make sure there were no cameras.

That's right. Yeah, according to experts, Palin subscribes to the primitive belief that cameras will 'steal her crazy.'"

–Conan O'Brien

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

MMRules

..up and running.

Going to try and cobble a show together and have it uploaded by noon EST.

..but first COFFEE!

maggiesboy - ur puter down. Thats weird
4 a Mac.?
I am making coffee 2.

glad you're back

i'm drinking my second cup, charging up for the day ahead

need to set up a couple of tables in front of the house, move a bunch of junk outside, start hawking and see what happens

wine ... I really should "force" myself in "opening" a cab {door} ;D

too!

toniD's Ya Think?

First U.S. marijuana cafe opens in Portland Updated at 1:37 AM

Edited on Sat Nov-14-09 06:38 AM by Turborama
Source: Reuters

The United States' first marijuana cafe opened on Friday, posing an early test of the Obama administration's move to relax policing of medical use of the drug.

The Cannabis Cafe in Portland, Oregon, is the first to give certified medical marijuana users a place to get hold of the drug and smoke it -- as long as they are out of public view -- despite a federal ban.

"This club represents personal freedom, finally, for our members," said Madeline Martinez, Oregon's executive director of NORML, a group pushing for marijuana legalization. "Our plans go beyond serving food and marijuana," said Martinez. "We hope to have classes, seminars, even a Cannabis Community College, based here to help people learn about growing and other uses for cannabis."

The cafe -- in a two-story building which formerly housed a speak-easy and adult erotic club Rumpspankers -- is technically a private club, but is open to any Oregon residents who are NORML members and hold an official medical marijuana card. Members pay $25 per month to use the 100-person capacity cafe. They don't buy marijuana, but get it free over the counter from "budtenders". Open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., it serves food but has no liquor license.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091114/ts_nm/us_oregon_potcafe

toniD's Ya Think?

Still killing the electric car.
Submitted by ghettodefender on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 3:31pm.

Chrysler, the recipient of $15.3 billion in taxpayer-funded bailout money -- granted in part because of its promise to invest in electric vehicle technology -- has just announced it is scrapping its plans for producing large volumes of electric cars.

Join us in telling Chrysler this is unacceptable. Pledge not to buy any Chrysler vehicles unless the automaker reinstates its electric vehicle program.

http://action.foe.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1713

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

MMRules

in Arcata CA but one could also "buy". Now just "selling" - cuz of toxicbushthing.
But I haven't been for a bit - so who knows. :D just glad marijuana is FINALLY recognized for THE GOOD it does - & better than "booze"!
;)

Here are the line-ups for the Sunday talk shows this weekend:

• ABC, This Week: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

• CBS, Face The Nation: Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT).

• CNN, State Of The Union: White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod; Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH); Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT).

• Fox News Sunday: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

• NBC, Meet The Press: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), Rev. Al Sharpton.

toniD's Ya Think?

...perhaps list on Open Mic ... cuz really important {I think} :D

Insurance exchange may have loophole
'a leak in the system' Insurers could draw healthy people out of new markets

By David S. Hilzenrath
Saturday, November 14, 2009 8:49 AM

Nobody wants to spend a lot of time, energy -- and taxpayer money -- and end up back where they started. But that's what could happen with one of the principal elements of health reform, the so-called exchange or gateway.

Legislators are designing this new insurance marketplace to protect consumers from many of the pitfalls and inequities in the current system. But even as they focus on the details of how the marketplace will work, senators have indicated that they would allow insurers to continue operating outside it, much as the health-insurance lobby has sought.

One of the Senate bills would preserve the possibility that insurers could tailor policies to draw healthy individuals out of the new markets, leaving coverage less affordable for those who stay behind.

"It's a leak in the system," said Karen L. Pollitz, a professor at Georgetown's Health Policy Institute. "It returns you to problems that we have today."

Senate bills guarantee that certain basic reforms -- such as requiring insurers to accept people regardless of preexisting medical conditions and banning annual and lifetime limits on coverage -- would apply both inside and outside the new markets for individuals and small businesses. But that would not be true for a host of other requirements intended to help consumers compare health plans on an apples-to-apples basis and force insurers to compete more directly on price.

For example, the bill written by the Senate health committee would not require insurers operating outside the marketplace to provide standardized disclosures about what they cover.

It would not prohibit health plans outside the exchanges from using marketing practices that discourage the seriously ill from enrolling, nor would it demand that they offer "a wide choice" of medical providers -- including "essential community providers . . . that serve predominantly low income, medically-underserved individuals," as the bill prescribes for insurers inside the exchanges.

Perhaps the sharpest dichotomy is that, under the health committee proposal, certain standards governing the nature and extent of covered benefits would apply only to policies sold inside the exchanges.

All of those factors contribute to the possibility that insurers might offer cheaper, less comprehensive policies outside the exchanges and entice healthier people to leave the new markets. That would leave the exchanges responsible for sicker people who are more expensive to insure.

Similarly, outside the exchange, the bill drafted by the Senate Finance Committee would not regulate the marketing of individual coverage, nor would it require that health plans be rated based on quality and price.

The legislation is now in the hands of Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.), who is merging the work of the finance and health committees into a single proposal that could be unveiled as early as next week.

Unlike the Senate bills, the one approved last weekend by the House says that all new policies for individuals would have to be sold within an exchange. more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/13/AR200911...

toniD's Ya Think?

I put it on my Facebook thing..

But,ghettodefender posted it originally..

So maybe He should put it on a Open mic..

But,if he doesn't,I will.. :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

MMRules

Her voice is grating and she's plain stupid.

she's the epitome of a dumb blonde joke without being blonde!

A book with 5 chapters and no index. The ramblings of a self possessed woman!

When they talk about her I change the channel.'

toniD's Ya Think?

They r killing wolves & sorting it out later - please help
Submitted by smcgee43 on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 11:07am.
Restore protections for wolves

Help protect wolves Sign our petition urging Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to immediately restore federal protections for northern Rockies wolves. Help us reach our goal of 100,000 signatures!

Take Action!

http://action.defenders.org/site/PageServer?pagename=savewolves_takeacti...

As always THANK YOU :)

»

btw could you put in Open Mic? I didn't since I wanted to start with "a positive" & was holding this info, since I put much there plus I wanted over Weekend - cuzzz ACTIONS should be here since some cannot respond ATT ... & all should sign if not just a humanist - as SOME! {btw I had already signed when Defenders sent to my e-mail} ...
hug hug kiss kiss ...

To The Many:
Save The Wolves! {there is a main philosophical analogy working amonst many - think about it.}

I am so sick of hearing about Sarah Palin
new
Submitted by toniD on Sat, 11/14/2009 - 9:35am.
... continued in above post ...

giant mug of delicious dark roasted Costa Rican...yummmmmm

"this machine kills fascists"

it is. She is the evil kind.

William Jefferson, Ex-Congressman, Gets 13 Years In Freezer Cash Case »

AP | MATTHEW BARAKAT | November 13, 2009 at 09:06 PM

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A former Louisiana congressman who famously hid $90,000 cash in his freezer was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison for taking bribes, the longest term ever imposed on a congressman for bribery charges.

William Jefferson, a Democrat who represented parts of New Orleans for nearly 20 years, was convicted in August of taking roughly $500,000 in bribes and seeking millions more in exchange for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20091113/us-jefferson-sentencin...

IN JAIL or on their way? GRRR
;)

First U.S. marijuana cafe opens in Portland

"PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - The United States' first marijuana cafe opened on Friday, posing an early test of the Obama administration's move to relax policing of medical use of the drug.

'Our plans go beyond serving food and marijuana,' said Martinez. 'We hope to have classes, seminars, even a Cannabis Community College, based here to help people learn about growing and other uses for cannabis.'"

"this machine kills fascists"

Cartoons on Sticky Notes By Doug Savage

http://www.savagechickens.com/tag/blogging

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B00qgKnz-uU

(From 11/9. Good!)

What Chinese Currency Manipulation Looks Like

As President Obama packs for China, I thought I'd show him a picture of how China is manipulating its currency.

The dollar stays flat against the Chinese Yuan, even as it loses value against other major currencies. The dollar is down to $1.50 per Euro, compared to $1.27 at this time last year (sorry to folks daydreaming about summer in Italy). It's down against the Canadian dollar, the Japanese yen and the entire "broad dollar index" tracked by the Federal Reserve. But the dollar is unchanged against the Chinese Yuan (unless one considers 6.836 to 6.827 a drop).

Everyone knows this is happening. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner even used the word "manipulating" with the Senate Finance Committee mere hours before it voted to recommend his confirmation.

The dollar exchange with China "defies the laws of monetary physics." During this U.S.-led global recession, dollars aren't worth as much as they once were. The natural physics of exchange makes U.S. goods relatively less expensive for others to buy, but makes foreign goods more expensive for Americans to buy. In a free market for currency, that would help bring accounts back into balance.

But China treats those laws as optional. China's deliberate policy of pegging the Yuan to the dollar makes American imports of Chinese goods artificially cheap and gives American companies opening factories in China an artificial subsidy. That's good for China but bad for America, and helps explain our soaring trade imbalance with China. An extraordinary 83 percent of America's non-oil trade deficit is with China. During the downturn, our trade deficit with other countries has been shrinking -- but not with China.

The wheels of change are starting to turn. The Obama administration stood up to China when it imposed tariffs on Chinese tires and pipes dumped in the U.S. markets. The chattering class called it a trade war, but it's not. It's just applying the same rules of free trade that other countries respect, and that China agreed to when it entered the G-20 and was granted permanent normal trade relations with the US. Obama just blew the whistle.

The G-20 summit in Pittsburgh in September concluded with a joint statement to seek "more balanced growth as part of the global economic reconstruction." The entire G-20 signed on -- including China -- but China's name was in bold in the quest for "balance," and everyone knew it.

Now America's high level trip to Asia opens with a joint op-ed written by our own Timothy Geithner along with the finance ministers of Indonesia and Singapore. They repeat the goal of "strong and balanced growth" and expressly state that "Market-oriented exchange rates in line with economic fundamentals will be essential."

China seems to be paying attention. In its third-quarter monetary policy report, the People's Bank of China suggested that it might consider other major currencies, not just the dollar, in guiding the exchange rate. That's not quite a free market float, but it's better than the dollar peg.

In the American heartland the issue isn't exchange rates, of course. The issue is jobs. American workers can compete dollar for dollar against Chinese workers. They can't compete dollars against manipulated Yuans.

America's economic future is intimately tied to China's. Let's hope Barack Obama remembers who he's working for.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-lotke/what-chinese-currency-man_b_355...

toniD's Ya Think?

First U.S. marijuana cafe
new
Submitted by toniD on Sat, 11/14/2009 - 8:29am.

I know that I have asked u this before,
where do u get those adorable little
images. Also how is my niece/nephew (I forget)
sorry...

The End of 'Too Big to Fail'

Rep. Paul Kanjorski
Posted: November 13, 2009 04:24 PM

"Too big to fail" must die. I am preparing legislation to empower federal regulators to rein in and dismantle financial firms that are so large, inter-connected, or risky that their collapse would put at risk the entire American economic system, even if those firms currently appear to be well-capitalized and healthy. Never again should American taxpayers have to bail out high-flying financiers when their risky bets go sour.

The economic meltdown we narrowly averted last year rightfully convinced the American people that we need to re-examine the fundamental structure of our financial system. Wall Street financiers, however, seem to think that -- now that they are basically stable thanks to American tax dollars that kept them afloat during the worst of the crisis -- they can just go back to business as usual. I have news for Wall Street: The world shifted, and it will never return to the way it was before mid-September, 2008.

Our only two living former chairmen of the Federal Reserve Board -- Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan -- have both indicated they support making sure that our nation's largest financial institutions become smaller so that none would be too big to fail. Even John Reed, who helped engineer the merger that created Citigroup, now recognizes it was a mistake to create such a huge institution. "I would compartmentalize the industry for the same reason you compartmentalize ships," he recently told a Bloomberg reporter. "If you have a leak, the leak doesn't spread and sink the whole vessel."

Capitalism is the most vibrant, flexible, and efficient economic system mankind has yet devised, and it is essential that we limit governmental interference in the distribution of capital as much as possible. At the same time, however, we must forever bear in mind that the purpose of any economic system is to serve the needs of people through the efficient distribution of goods and services. In addition to being inherently risky to systemic collapse, unfettered capitalism can lead to the extreme concentration of resources in the hands of the wealthy few, which can ultimately lead to political instability. Look to the example of the French Revolution to understand how the hungry masses will destroy the institutions of civilization to survive.

I am not suggesting that the American people are anywhere close to a violent revolt, but they have an intuitive queasiness about having a very small number of very huge financial institutions control an enormous amount of this nation's capital. They are still furious about the trillions of tax dollars spent to prop up financial entities which seemingly do nothing to serve their needs; all they know about organizations like Citigroup is that they are charging them outrageous fees on their credit cards.

Americans are not the only ones who feel burned by giant financial firms relying on tax dollars to remain afloat. Our most important economic partner, the European Union, has begun pressuring its largest financial institutions to divest operations as a condition of receiving additional state aid. Approximately 80% of all securities traded in the world emanate from firms based in the U.S. and the EU; the United States and the European Union working in partnership can still wrest some level of control over multi-national financial behemoths before they become so huge and powerful that they forever escape control of any governmental entity. If we do not set reasonable standards for both sides of the Atlantic, the global economy will forever be at risk of future collapse that no government would have the power to prevent.

President Obama has proposed restricting the activities of our largest financial firms and establishing rules for the orderly dissolution of those entities should they begin to fail. I believe we need to go further by preventing institutions from becoming systemically risky in the first place. As we restructure our regulatory framework, I hope that we can find agreement on this goal and focus on the mechanism by which we reach it.

Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski serves as the Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises. He represents the 11th Congressional District of Pennsylvania.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-paul-kanjorski/the-end-of-too-big-to-f...

toniD's Ya Think?

No, Rachel, No! This "Health Reform" Could Lose the Middle Class for Dems
RJ Eskow
Consultant, Writer, Health Analyst
Posted: November 13, 2009 01:07 PM

I read with interest Mike Elk's assertion that "liberal elitism will make Sarah Palin President," as well as Oliver Willis' response that "some people are, sadly, stupid." But if Democrats and progressives are really concerned about middle-class votes - and they should be - it's statements like this one by Rachel Maddow that should concern them:

And this weekend, the House grabbed the brass ring that president after president and Congress after Congress have wanted to grab and failed: health reform at last -- the kind of once in more than a lifetime historic achievement that could brand the Democratic Party and inspire voter loyalty for a generation.

Now, as a conflict-of-interest disclosure, I love Rachel Maddow's show. And she gets better every week. But when I heard her say these words on Monday's show, I felt like an actor in one of those slow-motion disaster scenes, watching a friend make a tragic mistake and wanting to shout "No-o-o-o-o- ...." (Remember, it's in slow motion.)

I think that's what Rachel was doing, too, when she went on to rightly slam the Stupak Amendment. (For an idea of how that amendment might look to a visitor from another planet, go here.) But, Stupak Amendment aside, it's this sort of rhetoric that troubles me the most right now. This is not the time for people, especially progressives, to congratulate themselves over this deeply flawed bill. There's still time to fix its most egregious flaws, which are by no means limited to the highly objectionable (and politically foolish) Stupak Amendment. I hope Rachel will reconsider.

Any possible amalgam of the House and Senate bills, as they now stand, will look very much like the plan once called Romneycare in Massachusetts. It will be highly (if not entirely) dependent on private health insurance, will lack meaningful price controls, and will be forced of necessity to leave a great many people uninsured even after passage. It will do great things for the lower-income uninsured - which is to be celebrated - but it will do so by placing disproportionate financial burdens on the middle class.

When politicians and health policy experts were celebrating the Massachusetts bill, only a few of us sent out warnings. But the scenario has played out pretty much the way our minority reports predicted. Politically, the Massachusetts bill - which addresses a much smaller problem than the one we face nationally - is mildly popular overall (51% favorability), but markedly unpopular with those it has affected personally.

And who would that be? The middle class, mainly.(1) That scenario's likely to play out again on a national scale. Those who currently have health insurance will face a future of rising premiums, starting next year, which these reforms would do little or nothing to address. Most of them will not have a public option choice, and even those that do will find it lacks cost-containment "teeth." And, while there's some merit to Goldman Sachs' doomsaying, the insurance companies will have a guaranteed revenue stream that can be enhanced with further premium increases. (The Goldman forecasts address the trend-based scenarios which drive stock prices - e.g.,will margins tend to improve or narrow - rather than absolute revenue numbers, which will remain healthy.)

This hardly sounds like "a lifetime historic achievement that could brand the Democratic Party and inspire voter loyalty for a generation." It sounds more like a bill that will help some people, leave others where they are, and place new burdens on still others. It also sounds like a bill that can be used to make political capital for the GOP, which can paint Dems as "the party that doesn't understand the middle class." A little of that, plus some populist right-wing rhetoric about Wall Street's coziness with Washington, and you could have a winning formula for Republicans.

Why say this now? Because there is still a chance to make this bill significantly better. Democrats can strengthen the public option, reconsider price controls, and make sure not to pass that "Cadillac" tax. (David Leonhardt's defense of it in the New York Times is based in part on a decades-old RAND study that has now been seriously challenged methodologically - I hope to discuss that at more length soon).

Nobody's going to bother addressing some of this bill's more troublesome provisions if smart, engaged progressives like my hero Rachel engage in premature congratulation, rather than providing Democrats the tough criticism needed if we are to get a better result than the one we're likely to face today.

____________

UPDATE: I haven't been able to read all of the comments, and you're entitled to your opinions (if expressed according to site rules, of course.) But, please, guys - the hatin' on Rachel is upsetting to me. I think she's terrific.

Can't we disagree on one point without whipping out the switchblades on one another?

____________

(1)This point applies specifically to families who will be mandated to purchase coverage, but will be eligible for little or no assistance paying their insurance premiums (which, as a reminder, neither the House or Senate bills would do much to contain). This will most strongly affect those who make roughly $66,000/year income and upward for a family of four, and who do not receive insurance through their employer.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/no-rachel-no-this-health_b_357046...

toniD's Ya Think?

A-hem

Screw it cried Pythagoras and The Worm

John Irvine

http://www.noneuclideancafe.com/issues/vol3_issue2_WinterSpring2008/irvi...

...in Google images and sometimes I see them as avatars in random forums

"this machine kills fascists"

The Lies They Told
By JACOB HEILBRUNN

When Sept. 11, 2001, dawned, the Northeast Air Defense Sector in Rome, N.Y., went on full alert — to prepare for a training exercise that envisioned a sneak attack by Russian planes flying over the North Pole to bomb the United States, a prospect that Defense Secretary Robert McNamara had dismissed as outdated in 1966. Later that morning, after American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 had hit the World Trade Center and American Airlines Flight 77 the Pentagon, three F-16 fighter jets were scrambled from Langley Air Force Base to form a combat air patrol over Washington. But degraded radio transmission quality meant that the pilots were left clueless about the nature of their mission. On seeing the Pentagon in flames, the lead fighter pilot later explained, “I reverted to the Russian threat. . . . I’m thinking cruise missile threat from the sea. You know, you look down and see the Pentagon burning, and I thought the bastards snuck one by us. . . . You couldn’t see any airplanes, and no one told us anything.”

For all the trillions of dollars lavished on it, for all the talk about confronting new security threats, for all the exhortations to reinvent government, America’s defense establishment, as John Farmer reminds us in “The Ground Truth,” continued to fight the cold war more than a decade after it had ended. Preoccupied with building a costly missile defense system to counter a spurious menace from Russia and with maintaining “full spectrum dominance” over the rest of the globe, most Bush administration officials blithely ignored the danger emanating from the caves of Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden and his acolytes plotted against America. Confronted by a small group of mostly Saudi nationals armed with box cutters, the central nervous system of the country’s defense agencies went into a state of cataleptic shock. The only decisive action taken on 9/11 came not from the military, but from the courageous passengers who stormed the cockpit of United Airlines Flight 93, leading the hijackers to crash the plane over Pennsylvania farmland before it could reach its intended target in Washington.

As senior counsel to the 9/11 Commission, Farmer, who was the attorney general of New Jersey and is the dean of the Rutgers School of Law, investigated the derelict conduct of the national security apparatus. He was well prepared to do so. In their valuable account of the commission’s activities, “Without Precedent,” the commission chairman, Thomas Kean, and the vice chairman, Lee Hamilton, noted that shortly after the attacks, Farmer — “one of our most important hires” — ­established a victims’ assistance center in New Jersey and helped the F.B.I. uncover important evidence in garbage at Newark International Airport. But the commission’s efforts to reconstruct the tragedy itself were, at best, resented and, at worst, impeded by the sprawling defense bureaucracy and the Bush administration, both of which had much to hide. Even two reports by the inspectors general of the Defense and Transportation Departments, released in 2006, whitewashed government failures. Now that numerous transcripts and tapes have been declassified, however, Farmer draws on them to assail the government’s official depiction of 9/11 as so much public relations flimflam.

Perhaps nothing perturbs Farmer more than the contention that high-ranking officials responded quickly and effectively to the revelation that Qaeda attacks were taking place. Nothing, Farmer indicates, could be further from the truth: President George W. Bush and other officials were mostly irrelevant during the hijackings; instead, it was the ground-level commanders who made operational decisions in an ad hoc fashion. The memoirs of the White House terrorism expert Richard Clarke, which Farmer credits with good faith, make it sound as though a dramatic video­conference that Clarke led played a crucial role in organizing a response to the hijackings, but Farmer says that “this account does not square in any significant respect with what occurred that morning.”

To bolster such contentions, Farmer focuses minutely on newly available transcripts from the Federal Aviation Administration and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad). He shows that, perversely enough, the one defense agency that had suffered draconian budget cuts was Norad, which had seen its alert sites reduced from about two dozen to a pitiful seven and, in any case, was unable to view large areas of the continental United States owing to its antiquated radar system. more....

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/books/review/Heilbrunn-t.html?_r=2&pag...

toniD's Ya Think?

And frankly I'm really tired and hurting today. Long day, for me anyway, 12-6 PM.

Hope I can make it.

Have a great day.

Later

toniD's Ya Think?

...apparently being waged unironically by the right

"In total, the word has surfaced at least 76 times already this year on 26 prime-time network series, according to research by the Parents Television Council, which compiled the statistics at the request of The New York Times. That is up from 30 uses on 15 shows in all of 2007 and just six instances on four programs in 2005."

"this machine kills fascists"

The Unspoken Christian Problem in the United States
by Dallas Dem

Share this on Twitter - The Unspoken Christian Problem in the United States Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 07:53:07 AM PST
Why does the main stream media continue to ignore the Christian problem here in the United States?

According to the FBI, an estimated 1,382,012 violent crimes occurred nationwide in 2008, and the 99% of those crimes were committed by Christians . In fact, Christians in the United States murdered over 14,000 Americans last year. Christians also committed close to 10,000,000 property crimes against Americans last year.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/11/11/104927/73

The bed needs a changing.

and went a little overboard.

Still good though. :)

Glad I have a 24oz drink. ;)
---
Put half a peach yogurt in there, now I practically have a fancy mango-salsa-type dealie.

Until he gets a certain number of DVD orders... ;)

Sammy, if I happen to get a HELOC, it'll be the first thing I buy...promise.

White House Plan on Immigration Includes Legal Status

"The Obama administration will insist on measures to give legal status to an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants as it pushes early next year for legislation to overhaul the immigration system, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on Friday.

'Let me emphasize this: we will never have fully effective law enforcement or national security as long as so many millions remain in the shadows,' she said, adding that the recovering economy would be strengthened 'as these immigrants become full-paying taxpayers.'"

Change. And a solid election year move, too. Looking forward to hearing more.

"this machine kills fascists"

By Hibah Yousuf, CNNMoney.com staff reporter
On 4:47 pm EST, Friday November 13, 2009

Even Academy Award winners are suffering from financial woes this recession. Actor Nicolas Cage lost two homes in New Orleans worth a total of $6.8 million in a foreclosure auction Thursday.

Birmingham, Ala.-based Regions Bank purchased Cage's 1140 Royal Street property in the French Quarter appraised at $3.5 million for $2.3 million. The bank, which has about 1,900 branches throughout the South, Midwest and Texas, paid $2.2 million for Cage's 2523 Pataniya Street property appraised at $3.3 million in the Garden District.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nicolas-Cage-loses-2-homes-in-cnnm-1304107...

...and not just morally

"Valley Club to file for Chapter 7 in wake of discrimination fight, revenue shortfall"

"this machine kills fascists"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MfUN57w3oE

"Does Nick Cage deserve to be broke?"

someone labeled this comment as spam. i think it's absolutely right on the mark.

"splatfacebrainssmell (3 days ago)

Stephen Sackur is a twat. Where do they get these people? Constantly trying to debunk chomsky and his reputation all through the interview. The BBC has changed.

The most revealing part was when he said "can i ask you a personal question?..." then twisted it into an insult, calling chomsky a hypocrite, that's just sick. Smarmy fucker."

Chomsky got his opinion across despite that determined attempt to stop him from revealing the real situation we live in.

strong ... yet so much stronger when directed ... everyone think only powerful positive thoughts, periodically thru-out day -- for some u know what best u can do...)

{AMA & Christianity finally has caught up {a bit} to Mysticism}

re: I'm off to work
new
Submitted by toniD on Sat, 11/14/2009 - 12:26pm.
And frankly I'm really tired and hurting today. Long day, for me anyway, 12-6 PM.

But all that has to happen is that the vid gets mobbed by assholes who give any given comment enough thumbs down. It doesn't have to do with any action by Chomskyan (channel person). It's a(nother) dumb function YouTube decided to put in. The majority must be correct, so obviously you wouldn't want to see the comment either.

whoopee!!

Submitted by gloryoski on Sat, 11/14/2009 - 12:57pm.
That article leaves out all the fun parts. Listen to Cenk.
-----

A pet octopus & dinosaur skull, Glo?

it was obvious.

Chomsky basically made an effort to get past the BS and speak out. same thing he's been doing in every interview i've seen him in.

B3 made a real effort to dig up Chomsky media over the last few years.

having watched them i'd say that the only thing standing out in this one was how clumsy the interviewer was in trying to interrupt Chomsky every time he made an effort to discuss the actual situations vs the establishment version.

Of course. Obvious and egregious. And it was my impression that the interviewer was coming from an "end of history" kind of perspective--at least at the beginning. It's not even the new talking points.

Nicolas Cage loses 2 homes in foreclosure auction
new
Submitted by edna ellen poe on Sat, 11/14/2009 - 12:48pm.

..like right after the currently playing Susan Tedeschi song 700 Houses

Whew

France, Brazil unveil policy for climate conference: Sarkozy

By http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iRz8fhnecr4bOIFSmT8zh...

Philippe Alfroy (AFP) – 11 hours ago

PARIS — France and Brazil adopted a common policy Saturday ahead of key UN global warming talks and vowed to launch a worldwide push to convince other powers to back their "climate bible".

A joint text was unveiled after talks between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, which gave an outline of an agreement they want at the December 7-18 Copenhagen summit.
...
The announcement came after Brazil on Friday said it would offer a "voluntary" cut of between 36 and 39 percent in greenhouse gas emissions at the Copenhagen summit.

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

Nuclear scars: Tainted water runs beneath Nevada desert
The state faces a water crisis and population boom, but radioactive waste from the Nevada Test Site has polluted aquifers.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-radiation-nevada13-...

Reporting from Yucca Flat, Nev. - A sea of ancient water tainted by the Cold War is creeping deep under the volcanic peaks, dry lake beds and pinyon pine forests covering a vast tract of Nevada.

Over 41 years, the federal government detonated 921 nuclear warheads underground at the Nevada Test Site, 75 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Each explosion deposited a toxic load of radioactivity into the ground and, in some cases, directly into aquifers.

When testing ended in 1992, the Energy Department estimated that more than 300 million curies of radiation had been left behind, making the site one of the most radioactively contaminated places in the nation.

During the era of weapons testing, Nevada embraced its role almost like a patriotic duty. There seemed to be no better use for an empty desert. But today, as Nevada faces a water crisis and a population boom, state officials are taking a new measure of the damage.
==
921 nuclear warheads and it's one of?

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

Apple Approves Political iPhone Application with Drawings of Legislators
14-Nov-2009
Written by: TheCelebrityCafe.com Staff
http://www.thecelebritycafe.com/features/35922.html

Although Apple initially rejected an application
due to allegedly controversial drawings that were featured of political figures, they have reversed their decision.

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

Republican bashes Dems over ...
==
and this really is

Portland's Cannabis Cafe Hopes to Create Long-Lasting Buzz BlackBook Magazinee

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

Stay tuned for 'Sen. Dobbs'
New York Post - Jennifer Fermino - ‎10 hours ago‎
Now that Lou Dobbs has hung up his microphone on CNN, the populist New Jersey resident could be a viable candidate for the Garden State's US Senate race in 2012, political experts said yesterday.
Lou Dobbs to Appear on The O'Reilly Factor Monday Seattle Post Intelligencer
Dobbs on "O'Reilly Factor" Monday Newsday

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

Saturday, November 14, 2009
10 Countries With The Greatest Number of Endangered Species

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: '...INBEAT GLOBAL COOKBOOKS...' (498663058)
To: (22526523)
Date: 11/14/2009 10:32:00 AM
Subject: 10 Countries With The Greatest Number of Endangered Species

-..-..-..-------------- Bulletin Message -..-..-..--------------
From: ♥~GREEN REVOLUTION~♥ Give us clean energy now! (408994894)
To: (498663058)
Date: 11/14/2009 8:54:38 AM
Subject: 10 Countries With The Greatest Number of Endangered Species

Katia 4 Peace & Planet ♥

List of 10 Countries

With The Greatest Number

Of Endangered Species

Written by Rhishja Larson

Published on November 4th, 2009

Have you heard the news? Habitat loss, overhunting, and unsustainable development are wiping out the world’s greatest treasure: Wildlife.

The animals and plants that call this planet their home haven’t got a chance if humans keep it up. Wildlife destruction is happening faster than current conservation efforts can replenish - or even stabilize - most endangered species numbers.

Now, the 2009 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species figures are in - and the news isn’t good.

From lowest to highest, take a look at this list of 10 countries with the greatest number of endangered species, according the 2009 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species:

10. Philippines

* Total 2009: 682
* Total 2008: 641

9. India

* Total 2009: 687
* Total 2008: 659

8. Brazil

* Total 2009: 769
* Total 2008: 738

7. Australia

* Total 2009: 804
* Total 2008: 788

6. China

* Total 2009: 841
* Total 2008: 816

5. Mexico

* Total 2009: 900
* Total 2008: 897

4. Indonesia

* Total 2009: 1126
* Total 2008: 1087

3. Malaysia

* Total 2009: 1166
* Total 2008: 1141

2. United States

* Total 2009: 1203
* Total 2008: 1192

1. Ecuador

* Total 2009: 2211
* Total 2008: 2208

There is also a simple chart on the following page (below) that provides a breakdown of each of the 10 countries by mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, molluscs, other invertebrates, and plants.

Is there hope for endangered species in a modern world?

Will education and the power of information overcome the damage done by human greed and ignorance?

Let’s hope so. Otherwise, you can look forward to some embarrassing moments explaining to your grandchildren why there are no more tigers in India, no more elephants in Africa, and no more California condors in California.

For the entire list, visit The Guardian UK Data Blog

http://www.sloshspot.com/blog/11-13-2009/If-Marijuana-Production-Were-Le...

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

...was Glenn Beck's head exploding...

This edition of Obama-Porn

"this machine kills fascists"

ms_a made this for you
http://www.samsedershow.com/node/5484

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

3 or 4 of these

and you'll be feeling like one of these

I did not post ... Hurry plz :D

http://www.samsedershow.com/comment/reply/5485

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

Many of my favorite people have uneven teeth.

Fuck the xray ionizing radiation -and the sinister braces propaganda about all the Horrible Things - physiological and social - that could well happen if don't put your little girl through that painful oral coming-of-age ritual.

My braces practically ruined my life - Impaled Tongue Syndrome, Embarrassing and Awkward Locked Mouth Syndrome when I was lucky enough to have a kiss bestowed with a likewise braces-bound young woman my age, and weird festering food-residue shit stuck on my teeth. And those odious high-frequency-corporate-carrier-wave-sublminal signals sent from Planet Chevy.

She's your little girl! Don't let 'em talk you into doing that to her.

Speaking of uneven teeth - I'm listening to the (early) Beatles just now. Next: Stones' "Tell Me."

End of rant.
Sweet dreams